Taking A Chance
by setherfan91
Summary: What if Rachel had told Peyton the truth in 3x14, that she was bunking with her? RachelPeyton ff. New! Chapter 22 finally up! Please read and review! UPDATE! 2-02-09
1. Chapter 1 Revelations

Taking a Chance I own nothing to do with One Tree Hill. No copywrite infringement intended. If a story like this has already been done, again, no infringement intended. And if any ideas look familiar, I'm not intending to plagiarize anything, I just read so many fan fics that ideas may accidentally show up in the story. Not trying to steal anything here, so please don't sue.  
The pairing is Rachel/Peyton. Rating M. Starts during 3x14 All Tomorrows Parties. What if Rachel had told Peyton the truth, that she was bunking with her? It's femslash, and please don't leave any reviews saying it's dumb or wrong, because it isn't.

Chapter 1- Revelations

"What's up?" Peyton asked Rachel.

"Oh, that was Bevin, she wanted me to tell you that you're bunking with me tonight."

"Why?"

"Haley's with Nathan, Skillz is with Bevin, and unless you want to bunk in a room with one bed with Lucas, then you're staying with me."

"Alright, cool." She finished her drink. Rachel walked over and took the glass from her and refilled it. She hands it back to her. Peyton takes a drink.

"I gotta hand it to you Rachel, you do make a kick ass drink," she said. Rachel smirked and picked up a lime and took a bite out of it. She held another piece up.

"Want one?"

"No, thanks, I can't eat sour foods straight like that." Rachel laughed. "It's not like it's an uncommon thing, not being able to simply eat a lime."

"I guess I'm not very common then." Peyton smiled at her and set her drink on the bedside table. Rachel suddenly got a serious look on her face.

"How are you doing? With everything?" Rachel asked her.

"I've been better. I mean, I know Ellie's in a better place, but I miss her. Now, I've lost two moms and my dads never around, and I'm not even 18. I thought that this kind of shit happened later in life."

"I think it can happen anytime, that's the point. And, if it's any consolation, my parents are never around either. I see them maybe five times a year, and even then they're just there to say hey, get the mail, do the laundry, re-pack and split. Not really role models. I mean, at least your parents all cared about you. Your dad still calls to check up on you all the time. He acts like your dad. Mine could care less what happens to me. How do you think I got this screwed up?" Peyton laughed a little. Rachel looked unsure about what she was about to say, but said it anyway. "What happened to your mom, your adopted mom, if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't, and she was killed in a car accident. She was running late to pick me up from school, so she ran a red light and got slammed into." 

"I'm sorry."

Peyton nodded. "You know, I used to run red lights all the time, and nothing would happen. I just don't understand why she ran one, and died, and I've run hundreds, and I'm just fine. Well, not fine, but you get what I mean." She began to cry softly. "Am I a death curse?"

"Oh, sweetie, no," Rachel said, and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. 

"How can you be sure? I've lost both moms, my dad has a dangerous job. In fact, one time I got a call that he had died, but they had the wrong person. It's like I can say I love you and put peoples lives in danger."

"That's not true. I mean, yes, you've lost people you've cared about, but most of them are still here. Brooke, Lucas, Haley, Nathan, your dad, and so many others. You're not a curse, Blondie. You just have bad luck sometimes." Peyton laughed at this and wiped her eyes. "See, there, you're laughing again." Rachel realized that she was still rubbing Peyton's back, and that they were still sitting very close. Peyton stared into her eyes.

"Thanks, you may not think that was much, but I needed to hear that." Peyton told her. Rachel nodded, smiling slightly, but still not removing her hand. Peyton leaned in a little bit, and then the rest of the way. She and Rachel's lips connected. Peyton expected her to pull away, but instead, she moved her hand to the back of her neck and pulled her closer, kissing her back. After a few seconds the two girls pulled apart, breathing heavily, looking slightly confused. 

"Wow," was all Peyton could say.

"I second that."

"I'm sorry, Rachel, I shouldn't have kissed you."

"You didn't hear me complaining, did you? But, question, was that just a moment thing or do you like me?" Rachel asked her.

"I like you, Rachel. I have since I saw you at tryouts that day. I just had to pretend I hated you because of Brooke."

"I've liked you since then too," Rachel said, and Peyton's face lit up. The two leaned in and kissed again, but this time it was more passionate. They sank back on the bed, with Rachel straddling Peyton. Peyton pulled at the hem of her shirt and they broke apart so she could pull her shirt off. Peyton took her own off and then threw them across the room, not knowing where they'd landed, and not caring either. Rachel paused for a second and looked at Peyton, who'd laid back down.

"You're so beautiful," she murmured, and Peyton blushed. The two began to kiss again, and then Rachel began to kiss her down her neck. Peyton moaned softly when she began to suck on her pulse point, leaving a hickey. Peyton placed her hand on her head, and Rachel looked up at her.

"I think we should stop there. I've never been with a girl before, and sex is kind of a big thing for me so…"

"Ok, that's fine, we'll wait until your ready." Rachel said reassuringly, and the two pulled their shirts on and fell asleep in each others arms.

Next Morning

Peyton awoke the next morning with a comforting arm around her. She thought back to last night. She'd been drinking, but she wasn't drunk, and neither was Rachel. She smiled to herself when her thoughts brought her to Rachel. She felt her stir beside her, and she turned over to see her just waking up.

"Hey Red," Peyton greeted.

"Hey Blondie, how'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Better than I had in ages, you?"

"Same." The two girls smiled shyly at each other. 

"So, awkward question?" Peyton said, and then paused. Rachel gestured for her to go on. "What are we?"

"Girls," Rachel said jokingly, and Peyton rolled her eyes.

"I mean, are we a couple, or was last night a mistake for you."

"Well, I for one would love for us to be a couple, I really like you Peyton. But, what do you think?"

"I really want us to be a couple to, but…"

"Of course, there's a but, there always is." She made to get out of bed, but Peyton stopped her.

"But, we'd have to keep it a secret. A lot of people at this school aren't very accepting of two girls being together."

"That's cool with me, I had to leave my last school because the kids there were so mean about me being gay," she said, and sadness crossed her face. Peyton cupped her cheek reassuringly. 

"So, we're a couple then?"

"Definitely." Rachel glanced over at the clock and stood up. "As much as I'd like to sit here and make out with you, I have to take a shower, we only have a couple hours." She walked into the bathroom, leaving Peyton alone with her thoughts. This was going to be an interesting relationship.

Hope everyone liked it, please r&r. 


	2. Chapter 2 Not Intentional

**_Chapter 2_**

Peyton and Rachel were walking down the hotel hallway towards the lobby for the cheer competition.

"So, you were out at your last school," Peyton asked her.

"Not intentionally. The star quarterback saw me and my girlfriend making out in the library one day and outed us to the whole school. It got so bad that my parents moved us out here. I just decided to reinvent myself at Tree Hill." They reached the lobby to see all the cheerleaders gathered already. They walked over to them.

"Hey Peyton, where'd you end up sleeping last night?" Haley asked her.

"In Rachel's room."

"And you two didn't kill each other?" she asked with a laugh.

"Nah, we managed to get along ok."

"That's good, it was about time you two buried the hatchet." Peyton smiled at her, and then her phone rang. She checked the caller id and answered.

"Hey Brooke, how's the fashion show going?"

"Funny you should ask…" she said as she walked up behind her.

"Brooke, what the heck?" Haley said happily. Peyton closed her phone and walked over to her and hugged her.

"What are you doing here, what about the fashion show?" she asked her.

"I have my whole life for that stuff, but not much longer to be a kid." Peyton smiled at her and the cheerleaders started walking towards the arena. Peyton hung back and walked at the back with Rachel.

"You're not going to tell Brooke?" Rachel asked her.

"No, she hates you. I think she'd see it as some sort of vendetta or something." Rachel laughed.

"Yeah, you're probably right. We'll just keep this to ourselves for a while." They walked to the arena.

The routine went perfectly, and they won the Classic. Afterwards, everyone went back up to their rooms to pack. Peyton and Rachel walked into their hotel room and gathered up their things, chatting about the Classic as they did.

"So, you looked hot today," Rachel said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you weren't too bad yourself," she replied, walking over to her. The two began to kiss intensely, but were interrupted when a knock came at the door.

"Peyton, Rachel, we have to go," came Haley's voice. Rachel rolled her eyes at the interruption and Peyton opened the door.

"Hey, what's taking you guy so long?" Haley asked them. "We were supposed to be downstairs like fifteen minutes ago."

"Sorry, we were just looking for something, but we found it, so, we're good."

"Ok," Haley said, frowning at them, confused. The girls grabbed their bags and followed Haley down to the bus.

"Hey P. Sawyer," Brooke greeted Peyton as soon as she got on the bus. Peyton waved and went over to sit with her. Rachel took a seat behind them. Brooke rolled her eyes at her before turning back around and talking to Peyton.

"So, what did you do last night?" she asked her.

"Oh, I just hung out with Rachel." Brooke looked scandalized.

"You hung out with that slut?" she said incredulously.

"Hello, sitting right here," Rachel said irritably.

"Hello, um, I don't care," Brooke retorted. She spotted Lucas and stood up. "I gotta go ask Luke something, I'll be right back."

"Don't hurry back," Rachel said with a smirk.

"Feel free to not be here when I get back," Brooke said. As soon as she'd walked over to Lucas, Peyton turned around to face Rachel.

"Yeah, I don't think that telling her about us would be the smartest of ideas."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, she really does seem to hate me," Rachel said mock disbelievingly. Brooke walked back over to Peyton and saw the two girls laughing at something, but they stopped as soon as she reached them. She found it a little strange but brushed it off, flipped Rachel off, and sat back down next to Peyton.

They spent the bus ride home chatting and making plans for their evening. She and Brooke and Haley were going to go to the mall and then go have dinner and catch up about everything, including how Brooke skipped the fashion show. Peyton was tempted to ask Brooke if they could invite Rachel, but knew that it would be a bad idea, and would only raise suspicion out of Brooke. They got off the bus when the reached the school. Peyton grabbed her bag and followed Brooke and Haley out of the bus. She saw Rachel walking towards her car.

"I'll be right back," she said, and jogged after her. "Hey, were you going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"No, but I thought that a nice cheery goodbye might be taken as suspicious since supposedly you all hate me," she said with a smirk.

"Everyone but me. So, I was thinking that tomorrow maybe we could do something, dinner and a movie, something like that? How's that sound."

"That sounds perfect." she glanced around to make sure no one was watching before giving Peyton a chaste kiss.

"Mk, see you later Red."

"Bye Blondie." With that she walked back to Haley and Peyton, not knowing that someone had witnessed their kiss. They got into the car and drove off.

Rachel was putting the rest of her crap in the car when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Mouth walking towards her.

"Hey Buddy," she said with a smile.

"Don't hey buddy me."

"Umm, why not."

"Rachel, I just saw you and Peyton kiss."

"Damn, I didn't think anyone was around."

"So, when you say you two hung out in your room what you meant was…"

"I helped her work out her problems, which led to kissing, and then heated making out, and then the revelation that both of us had liked the other for a long time. You're not mad, are you?"

"No, of course I'm not mad, I'm glad that you've found someone that makes you happy."

"Mouth, you absolutely cannot say a word to anyone. We're not ready to come out, I mean, Peyton's not even telling Brooke. And I really don't want to repeat what happened to me at my last high school."

"I would never do that to you guys."

"Thanks Mouth, you're the best," she said, giving him a hug, but someone in the distance caught her eyes. "Hey, who's that, I don't think I've ever seen him before. And anyway, it's awfully late for someone to be in the school," she said as Mouth looked over with her to see a guy carrying a box into the school.

"Oh, I recognize that guy, that's Felix. He must've transferred back her. Damn, I hate that asshole. Ok, well, I've gotta run. Congratulations, Rachel, you and Peyton make a good couple, and you deserve someone who makes you happy."

"Thanks Mouth," she said and waved good bye to him before getting in her car and driving home.


	3. Chapter 3 Suspicions and Titanic

-1**_Chapter 3_**

_**2 weeks later**_

Peyton and Rachel and Haley were sitting at a table in a restaurant, chatting. Peyton checked her watch and realized that she needed to get going if she wanted to make her date with Rachel.

"Hey, sorry guys but I'm gonna have to bail," she said.

"What, why?" Brooke asked disappointedly.

"I just have some things I need to do, but I'll see you at school tomorrow, ok?"

"Alright, if you're sure you can't stay," Brooke said, and Haley stood up and hugged Peyton goodbye, followed by Brooke.

"Bye guys, see you later." she said and walked out of the restaurant and towards her house, about a ten minute walk.

"I wonder if she has a mystery date?" Haley said with a smirk.

"She couldn't, she'd tell us, we're her best friends."

"I don't know, her and Rachel seemed pretty close at the Classic, maybe she's hanging out with her and didn't want to tell us."

"Yeah, I noticed that too, what the hell is up with that? Why Rachel?"

"I don't know, maybe they have a lot in common. They have been hanging together quite a lot lately.

"It doesn't matter, she shouldn't hang out with that…troll. I hate her, it's against the best friend code."

"Brooke, her hanging out with Rachel is not a snub against you, maybe she wants a friend who listens to the same music as her. Or, maybe their not friends at all and we're just letting out imaginations run away with us."

"I hope it's the second one." Brooke said, and the two continued eating their dinner.

**Peyton's house-**

Peyton had just finished straightening everything up when the doorbell rang. She walked over and answered it.

"Hey Blondie," Rachel said and stepped inside the house. Peyton closed the door and the two kissed before walking into the kitchen. "How was your night with Haley and Brooke?"

"It was fun, we went shopping and had desert."

"Desert, no dinner?"

"Nope, we just went to a restaurant and ordered desert, we do it a lot."

"Ok, if you want to take 5 years off your life, I guess that's your prerogative." she said with a laugh.

"So, pizza sound good?" Peyton asked, ignoring her comment.

"Sounds great," she said as Peyton dialed the number. Rachel wrapped her arms around her waist from behind and Peyton leaned into her. After she ordered the pizza, she hung up and the two went into the family room to pick out a movie. They finally decided on Titanic. They sat down on the couch together and started the movie.

"Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you, Mouth, he knows about us," Rachel told Peyton.

"What, how?"

"He saw us kiss in the parking lot a couple weeks ago, but he said he won't say a word."

"No, Mouth wouldn't do that. He's a good guy." Rachel rested her head on Peyton's shoulder as they watched the movie until the pizza came. They ate their pizza and then watched the movie. When it ended, Peyton had tears in her eyes, but Rachel had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh, sweetie, are you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just so sad. They should've been together forever." Peyton rubbed her back for a minute and then Rachel gathered herself together. "I'm sorry, it's just, that movie always gets to me."

"Don't be sorry, I think it's adorable." The girls shared a kiss, and then Rachel checked her watch.

"I'm sorry hun, I have to go, it's late, and we've got school tomorrow, and then the benefit concert the next day."

"Yeah, and you're definitely gonna be there, right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world." She got up and walked towards the front door with Peyton behind her. "Bye babe, see you tomorrow."

"Bye sweetie," she said and kissed her goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4 Uncorked

-1**_Chapter 4-Uncorked_**

_**Authors Note- Some of the dialogue is taken directly from oth, no copyright infringement intended.**_

Peyton met up with Brooke and Haley at school the next day in the parking lot.

"Looks like there's a lot of commotion going on," Haley commented, and the three walked inside the school. Everyone was grouped around the televisions that were in the hallway. Nathan was talking on the tv.

"People think that if you love somebody hard enough then everything is just gonna work out. People are wrong. 50 years from now, I hope you got what you wanted Haley, but getting married to you was the worst mistake of my life. Here's a little advice, never get married. In the end, you're only be miserable."

Haley looked stunned and hurt, and she looked down the hallway to see Nathan. She shook her head and walked away and Nathan followed.

**Cut to-**

Whitey and the Principal were standing by the wall where the time capsule had been, trying to figure out how it had gotten out. Whitey moved the Friends With Benefit poster and finds the hole in the wall. They sighed and walked into the school.

**Later that day-**

Peyton was sitting at the computer, watching Brooke's time capsule entry. Brooke walked in and laid down on the bed and put a pillow over her head.

"Well, we've got a good news bad news situation here," Peyton said to her.

"What can be worse than the entire school seeing your boobs?"

"The entire world seeing them," Peyton said slowly. Brooke sat up quickly. "Yeah, it seems that whoever it was that opened the time capsule was nice enough to upload it onto the internet."

"Uh, what's the good news?"

"You did rank number 23 on limewire."

"Really? Well, I guess that is pretty good news." Peyton laughed but stopped quickly.

"Man, who would do something like this, open the time capsule early?"

"My money's on Rachel," Brooke said irritably. Peyton looked slightly alarmed.

"Do you really think she'd do something like that?"

"Peyton, Rachel was born to do this. Anyway, how's the concert coming?"

"Oh, umm, it's ok. I really wish I had more people's attention though. I mean, we have great bands, but more expensive benefit tickets. I just wish that I could do something great for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. It's for Ellie." Brooke's face lit up.

"How much do you love it that your best friend's a genius? Nevermind. Just wait, I know how to get everyone's attention."


	5. Chapter 5 How Could You Think That

-1**Chapter 5-How Can You Think That?**

Brooke's poster had gotten a ton of attention, and the concert was packed. Peyton and Brooke were talking to Karen when Peyton spotted Rachel come into the club.

"I'll be right back," she said to them and walked over to Rachel, leaving a confused Brooke behind. She hadn't talked to Rachel since the time capsule was opened.

"Hey you," Peyton said to her. Rachel smiled.

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a couple of days."

"Yeah, I know, everything's been so crazy. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course," she said and followed her to a secluded part of the club.

"Rachel, did you open the time capsule?" Peyton asked her. Rachel's face fell, and she looked astonished.

"What, no, of course not." Peyton looked skeptical. "Peyton, how can you think that I would do something like that? The old me would have, but now, I would never do anything like that. Do you honestly believe that?"

"I don't know, it just seems like something that you might do." Rachel laughed humorlessly.

"I have to go," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Rachel,"

"Save it, Peyton," she said, and she walked out of the club.

"Damn it," Peyton muttered. She sighed and walked back over to Brooke.

"What was that all about?" she asked her.

"Nothing important."

**Later that night-**

Peyton was watching Jack's Mannequin play from backstage when someone came up behind her.

"Hey, do you know who's up next?" they asked her.

"Fall Out Boy," she answered without looking at them.

"Yeah, I heard that band sucks. Bass players pretty cool though," said Pete. Peyton turned around and laughed.

"Hi Pete."

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Been better. You?"

"Pretty good. Hey, I had something that I wanted to ask you. Next time I'm in town, would you like to go out with me?"

"Oh, Pete, that's sweet, but, I'm actually kind of seeing someone."

"Oh, damn. Well, who's the lucky guy?" Peyton glanced around.

"You don't know her" she said, and Pete looked surprised, but his face turned happy in a matter of seconds.

"That's hot, good luck."

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it. I screwed up pretty bad with her tonight."

"Well, I'm sure you'll fix it." He got the cue that it was almost time for him to go on. "Alright, well, I'll be back in a minute and we can catch up, but right now, I gotta go save the world." He walked onto the stage followed by the other band members. The lead singer stopped by Peyton.

"Did he just roll out gotta go save the world?" he asked her.

"Yeah."

"That's my line." Peyton laughed at him. She watched as the band played. Brooke walked over to her.

"Hey, what did Pete want?"

"Oh, he um, asked me out."

"What?! When are you going?"

"I'm not."

"Why?"

"I'm just not going to do relationships right now." Brooke opened her mouth to reply, but Peyton cut her off. "Brooke, please, I just don't want to be in a relationship right now."

"Fine, but next time he's in town, if he's still single, you are so going out with him." Peyton smiled. Brooke smiled at her for a second before turning serious.

"Peyton, are you seeing someone?"

Peyton looked at her for a moment. She contemplated telling her, but what if she wasn't ok with her being gay? She probably would be, but as soon as she hit the word Rachel, she knew Brooke would have a fit. She still hated her with a passion.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone." _Not anyone you'd approve of, anyway._

Pete finished and he came over to Peyton. They went into the back and talked for a few minutes.

"So, how are you gonna make things right with Rachel?" Pete asked her. She'd told him all about them and about their fight.

"I'm going to talk to her at school tomorrow."

"Ok, well, Peyton, it's been great catching up with you, but I've gotta run, we're going to Charlotte and we have to leave now."

"Alright, well, thank you for listening to me bitch about my problems, and sorry for turning you down."

"I don't mind listening to you, and I'm just sorry I didn't ask you sooner." She laughed a little, and then the two hugged goodbye. After he left Peyton helped Karen close up, contemplating how she was going to apologize to Rachel tomorrow, not knowing that she wasn't going to get the chance.

**There's the first 5 chaps, please r&r and tell me what you think. Chap 6 should be up in a couple days. Also, there will be more Peyton/Rachel in 2 chapters, but first is the tragedy. **


	6. Chapter 6 Life Changing Moments

-1**Chapter 6-Life Changing Moments**

**Again, a lot of dialogue taken from OTH, 3x16.**

Rachel threw her books into her backpack as she got ready for school. She was pissed off at Peyton. How could she think that she'd open the time capsule? I mean, sure, she'd thought about it back when she first came to the school, but after she'd met Peyton, she'd changed. Oh well, she probably would suspect herself too. She walked outside and got into her car. She'd talk to Peyton at school.

Peyton and Brooke were walking towards the library. Brooke was talking about her and Lucas. Peyton was half listening. She was looking for Rachel, she needed to apologize. They reached the glass doors and Brooke gasped and grabbed Peyton's hand. Peyton looked over to where she was pointing, and the two instinctively dropped to the floor right as the shot went off. Brooke covered her head and felt people running past her, and then somebody grabbed her and pulled her up. She ran out of the school, and realized that Peyton wasn't with her.

"Peyton!? Peyton!" she yelled as a bus pulled up and Lucas got out and ran over to her. "Lucas, somebody has a gun inside. There was shooting. I lost Peyton. She was right next to me and then a shot went off and then she was gone."

"Whoa, whoa, Peyton was shot?"

"No, I don't know! We were by the library and the shot went off."

"Haley's in the tutor center," Nathan said. Before Brooke knew it, both boys were running into the school and she was being pushed onto the bus by Whitey, and the bus was driving away.

Rachel was walking towards her class. She was near the Tutor Center when she heard the Principal's voice over the speakers saying it was a code red and they needed to get to a designated lock down area. She felt panicked and quickly went into the Tutor Center along with Skillz, Haley, and three other kids she didn't know. Haley closed and locked the door and turned out the lights, and they all sat down on the floor.

Rachel pulled out her cell phone and tried to call Peyton, but the phone didn't have any service.

"No service," Skillz said, checking his own phone. No one's phones seemed to work. Rachel tried to keep calm, but inside, she was screaming. All she could think about was making sure that Peyton was ok. The guy next to her, Marcus, began to talk about getting out of there, but Haley argued with him that it was a bad idea.

"What about the windows?" Rachel voiced. "We could break the windows and get out."

"No, it just goes to a courtyard. It's enclosed, it's just for light."

"Yeah, and we get to breaking all the windows, we just draw attention to ourselves." Skillz said.

"You don't think a locked door is gonna tell whatever psycho is out there that we're in here?" Marcus asked him.

"Why would you call him psycho?" The boy on the far end, Jimmy, the guy from the time capsule, asked. Marcus looked at him incredulously. Rachel was confused too.

"Something to do with them trying to kill us all, fat ass," Marcus said to him. Jimmy looked angry. Everyone else looked scared. All Rachel could think about was Peyton. Was she ok?

Peyton was sitting in the library on the floor, crying. Her leg hurt so bad, and there was blood everywhere. She couldn't walk, she'd never make it out. She heard someone walking. _God, what if it was the killer? _She looked over to see Lucas holding a baseball bat, but he quickly dropped it and knelt down next to her. He put his hand on her leg and she cried out and pulled away.

"Ow, my leg, I got cut by some glass. Lucas, I lost Brooke, I'm sorry."

"She's fine, she's fine. Oh, but, you're not. Ok, we gotta get you somewhere safe."

"No, I can't, I can't walk, I tried." He stood up, but she grabbed his hand. "Please, don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to go barricade the door. We'll just hide out here. I promise, I won't leave you." She nodded and he grabbed the baseball bat and walked towards the library door. Peyton pulled out her phone and tried to call Rachel, but she couldn't get service. God, she hoped she was ok.

Everyone was sitting in the classroom when there was a soft knock at the door. Everyone immediately stood up, panicked. Something slid under the door. Haley picked it up and her face lit up.

"It's Nathan," she said and reached for the lock, but Marcus stopped her.

"You can't open that, you don't know it's him."

"No, it's his drivers license."

"So, how do you know that somebody didn't kill him and take it? You said it yourself, it's a lockdown, everyman for himself." Everyone argued over it for a minute before Skillz grabbed Marcus, shoved him against a wall, and told her to open the door. She did and Nathan and Mouth stepped inside. Naley hugged and Nathan said they were all getting out, but then the kids saw something that made their blood run cold.

"Nobody's going anywhere," Jimmy said, and he was pointing a gun at them. He ordered them all away from the door. They stood up against the wall. Jimmy and Mouth argued for a minute.

"How bout you, hero, you scared?" he asked Nathan.

"Yeah, I'm scared." Nathan replied honestly.

"Good, welcome to my world," Jimmy said. He walked to the desk, pulled out a roll of masking tape, and threw it to Nathan. "Alright, you're going to tape a line down the center of the room. Go!"

"Why are you doing this," the younger girl, Abby, asked.

"You're Abby Brown, right?" Jimmy said to her. She nodded. "What's my name?"

"Jim." She said in a scared voice.

"My full name," he said, sounding angry and near tears at the same time. She cried harder, and said that she didn't know. Rachel spoke up with fear.

"He's the guy from the time capsule."

"Jimmy Edwards," Hailey said, and he looked at her. "You're Jimmy Edwards, and you're a good guy, and you are better than this." As she said this, Rachel noticed that she had dialed 911 on her cell phone. She was giving them information.

"Just shut up, all of you, shut up," Jimmy yelled.

"Jimmy, seven hostages in the tutor center, that's not you!" Hailey exclaimed. He saw her messing around with her phone behind her back.

"What are you doing, what's in your hand?" he asked her angrily. He continued to point the gun at her as she insisted that it was nothing, but finally gave up and threw it to him. He looked at it and told the police that if they came in, he'd kill them all. He threw her phone against the wall, shattering it.

"Alright, I want everyone's cell phones now!" He yelled. Everyone pulled their phones out and rolled them to him. "And you Missy Pepper Spray, roll it over here," he said to Rachel. "The baseball bat too, come on. Where's your phone Scott," he said when Nathan didn't give his up. Nathan told him that he didn't have it on him, and he taped the line.

Lucas pulled the material on Peyton's jeans back a bit to inspect the damage. He grimaced slightly at the sight.

"You're bleeding pretty good, we're gonna have to put some pressure on it." He unbuttoned his shirt and tied it around her leg. Tears escaped her eyes from the pain.

"Luke, it was your friend, the one from the time capsule. But he didn't look evil, or angry. He just looked scared." Lucas looked stricken. Peyton gently put her hand on his shoulder, and he smiled slightly at her. "Um, Luke, did you see Rachel by any chance?"

"What?"

"Did you see if she made it out of the building?"

"No, I didn't see. Why do you wanna know?"

"Just curious." Lucas looked confused, but he brushed it off.

"You're as bad as my, best friend Mouth, who totally blew me off!" Jimmy yelled to Hailey.

"You didn't want to do anything," Mouth said with tears in his eyes.

"You say that, but you changed, and you know it. You became just like them," he said, waving the gun around to illustrate his point.

"Don't do that," Rachel said, looking up at him. "Don't make him feel guilty for living his life. This is not his fault. This is your fault."

"No, it's your fault. Do you think this is what I wanted? I just wanted it to stop." Marcus argued with him for a second, and then Jimmy informed him that if they got past him, the others would get them.

"Are there others?" Hailey asked.

"No no, I was just out there, it's only him," Nathan said.

"You think so. You really think I am the only one? Then ask yourself this. Have you ever treated someone like crap in this school or left anyone out? Have you ever broken up with someone in the time it takes to pass a note and disappear? Or talk trash behind their back? Or maybe you just ignored it all? You know why you worry about the big game or the prom or the bake sale for the pep club. You ask yourself that and then you tell me if there is anyone else out there!" Jimmy said loudly. A cell phone in the drawer rang, distracting him. When Marcus told him that it was his mom, Jimmy grabbed the phone, opened it, told the woman that her son was a dick, and then threw it and the other phones against the wall. Marcus ran to the desk to try and get the gun, but Jimmy grabbed it first and pointed it at him. Marcus wouldn't back up, so Skillz punched him and they dragged him back.

A little while later, Nathan started talking to Jimmy. "Hey, can I ask you a question? What do you want to happen?" Nathan asked him.

"What do I want to happen? Uh, let's see, I wanna crap a million dollars and a plane ticket to Bolivia."

"Maybe you could just give up," Rachel suggested.

"Oh yeah, that's it, I'll just, call a do-over."

"Why not? You didn't hurt anybody, did you?" she asked, thinking of Peyton and hoping that she had gotten out of the school ok.

"I don't know."

"You don't have a record Jim," Hailey said, clearly trying to reason with him before the situation became any worse. "You're a good student, and you're a minor."

"Yeah man, maybe this isn't as bad as you think." Nathan told him. Marcus laughed disbelievingly.

"You're kidding right? The guy shot up a school!"

"Would you shut up man?" Skillz said irritably.

"You shut up. I'm not lying for him. He pointed a gun at my head and threatened to kill me. I hope they fry his ass," Marcus said.

"What's wrong with you? He's just a kid. We're all just kids and we just have this life and the things you say and do, we feel that. How can you have so much hate in your heart? How can you act like it doesn't matter? It does matter. What happened to us? We're just kids. We can't be like this. It's not possible." Abby said, and she started crying even harder.

"700 hundred days. High school, out of 20 or 30 thousand. Can't you see past that? It's only 700 days." Jimmy told her about his worst days, and asked her if he could get those back. Marcus told him that it sucked, but it was only high school. Jimmy said that his college had rejected him. Marcus asked him if this was all because he didn't get into college, and he told him that it was because he was tired of it.

Lucas and Peyton were sitting on the floor in the library, and she had just told him about a good day, but she was starting to fade fast. She made a decision.

"Lucas, if I don't make it out of this…"

"Peyton,"

"No, Lucas, this is important." He nodded, and she continued. "If I don't make it out, will you tell her that I'm sorry I doubted her?"

"Who, Brooke?"

"No, Rachel."

"Rachel," he asked, confused. She nodded.

"Yeah, and tell her that I think I'm falling in love with her." Lucas looked astonished. "We've been dating for a few weeks, but we had a fight last night, because I thought she might have opened the time capsule, but I doubted her, even when she promised me she didn't do it. And now, I may never get to tell her that I'm sorry."

"Wow, you and Rachel." Peyton looked a little annoyed. "Peyton, I promise I'll tell her, but you're gonna be just fine, and you can tell her yourself, ok?" She nodded.

Hailey had just found out that Abby was diabetic, and the kids had convinced Jimmy to let her go. Jimmy was standing at the door, watching her run out, with an almost relieved expression on his face. He turned back, and instantly got angry again when he saw that Nathan had his cell phone.

"What are you doing, you said you didn't have a phone?! Who did you call? They better not come in here. I should have known it was all about the gun. What, do I need to pull the trigger again to make you take me seriously?" 

"No," Hailey said loudly.

"I promise you, whoever steps into that hallway is gonna die!"

Lucas carried Peyton to the library doors. She had passed out, and he knew that if he didn't get her out soon, she wasn't going to make it. He opened the door and stepped through, but didn't catch it on time. It slammed shut. He groaned. If that didn't attract attention, he didn't know what would.

The door slammed from far off.

"I guess that's my cue," Jimmy said, and walked over to the door. They all tried to stop him, but he walked out anyway. He walked towards the double doors a hallway over and saw Lucas carrying Peyton. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" he yelled to him.

"She's bleeding."

"The schools on lockdown!"

"I know Jim, but if I don't get her out of here, she's gonna die." Jimmy looked crestfallen.

"I didn't mean to hurt her."

"We know that Jimmy," said Keith as he came in through a side door.

"What the hell is this?? The schools on lockdown!"

"Jimmy, please, just let them go, and you and I can talk about this," he said, stepping in front of Peyton and Lucas as he did. Lucas began to walk forward towards the door slowly, and Keith stayed in front of him.

"Keith…"

"Luke, I love you, now go." Keith told him. Lucas reluctantly walked out the doorway, not knowing that that would be the last time that he ever saw Keith alive. He walked to the entrance of the school and opened the door only to find guns pointing at him from all directions. He walked forward with Peyton and handed her off to one of the SWAT team members, and got down on the ground so they could search him. After they did, he got up to see Peyton being driven away in an ambulance. He walked over to his mother and Brooke and hugged them both, all of them crying.

The kids in the tutor center heard the second shot go off. They all looked stunned. A few minutes later, SWAT team members showed up at the door and escorted them all from the school. They were questioned and then allowed to go. Rachel saw Lucas standing with his mom and Brooke. They were awaiting news on Keith. He saw her and walked over to her. He looked upset beyond words, but managed to tell her where Peyton was.

"She got shot in the leg, she's on her way to the hospital." Rachel thanked him and ran to her car, and drove to the hospital to see Peyton.

**There you go, hope everyone liked it. Thank you for the reviews. Please tell me what you think of this one. I know that most of the dialogue is taken from 3x16, but there really wasn't a way to re-write that episode. All the other chapters will be original, so again, no copywrite infringement intended. Next chapter up in a couple of days.**


	7. Chapter 7 Hospitals, Wakes andLarry?

-1**Chapter 7- Hospitals, Parties, Wakes, and…Larry?**

Rachel walked down the hospital hallway, looking for Peyton's room. She finally reached it, and walked inside. Peyton was asleep. Rachel sat down in the chair next to the bed and took her hand. She stayed that way for a minute, then she felt Peyton squeeze her hand.

"Hey Red," Peyton said softly as she opened her eyes. Rachel's face lit up happily.

"Thank God, you're ok," she said, relieved. Peyton smiled and nodded.

"Rachel, I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Not believing you. I never should have doubted you." Rachel shrugged.

"That's ok, I probably wouldn't have believed me either." Peyton smiled at her.

"So we're ok?"

"We're more than ok."

"Good. Oh, by the way, I told Lucas about us."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just, I was bleeding, and I thought I was gonna die, so I asked him to tell you that I was sorry."

"How did he take it?"

"He was fine with it."

"That's good. Are you gonna tell Brooke?"

"When all the drama dies down, maybe."

"That might take a while."

"Yeah, speaking of, what happened? I've been out, and no one's told me what happened." Rachel hesitated for a moment, but decided that she'd find out eventually.

"Jimmy killed Keith, and then himself." Peyton gasped and began to cry.

"Oh God, it's all my fault."

"What, honey, no of course it's not. Why would you say that?" 

"If Lucas hadn't come in that school for me, Keith wouldn't have gone in and he would still be alive."

"Yeah, but if Lucas hadn't gone back in that school for you, you wouldn't still be alive." Peyton looked skeptical. "The doctors said that if Lucas hadn't come for you and put pressure on your leg and gotten you out of there, you would've bled to death. Peyton, don't blame yourself for this, because it is in no way your fault. Ok?"

"Ok," she said. Rachel gently brushed her tears off her cheeks, and then leaned down and kissed her. Peyton moved her hand to Rachel's neck and pulled her a little closer, but they were interrupted seconds later.

"Um, Peyton, what is this?" asked Larry, Peyton's father, from the doorway.

"Dad, hi," she said as the two pulled apart.

"Peyton…"

"Dad, this is Rachel, my…girlfriend." He looked shocked for a moment but walked over and held out his hand to Rachel.

"Hi Rachel, I'm Larry." Rachel shook his hand, looking surprised. Larry bent down and kissed Peyton on the forehead. "How are you doing, sweetie?" he asked her.

"I'm ok, my leg hurts, but other than that, I'm fine."

"Ok, well, the doctors want to keep you tonight for observation, but you can go home tomorrow morning. You'll probably have to miss Keith's funeral though, but not the wake."

"Alright, as long as I can be there for Lucas and Karen at some point."

He nodded. "So, how long have you girls been dating?"

"A few weeks," Peyton answered for him. "Are you ok with it?"

"Of course I am, anything that makes you happy."

"Thanks dad."

"No problem. I'm going to go talk to the doctor for a minute, and then I'll be right back, ok?" Peyton nodded and Larry walked out of the room.

"Well, that went a lot better than I thought it would," Peyton said, smiling at Rachel.

"Definitely. I have to go home and take a shower, but I'll be back in a couple of hours, ok?"

"Rachel, honey, you don't have to stay by my side 24/7. You look exhausted. You should go home and get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just come by tomorrow after the funeral, and we'll go over to the wake together."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then." She leaned down and kissed her softly. "Bye sweetie."

"Bye." she said and walked out of the room. Peyton smiled, happy that she and Rachel had made up.

**Next Day**

Rachel, Peyton, and Larry had just arrived at Karen's house. They went inside and were immediately swarmed with people wanting to see if Peyton was ok. Larry went over to talk to Lucas and Rachel stayed with Peyton. Brooke walked over a couple minutes later after the crowd had cleared away from them. Brooke looked irritated that Rachel was there, but decided to let it slide.

"Hey buddy," she said to Peyton. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't checked in, I've just been with Lucas and Karen."

"Of course, it's fine."

"I'm glad you're ok, I mean, you're gonna be ok, right?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine, I just have to do some physical therapy for my leg."

"Good." She turned to Rachel. "How are you doing?" Rachel looked surprised at the show of concern.

"I'm ok. You?"

"Been better." The three girls stood there for a moment.

"I'm going to go see Karen," Peyton said. Brooke nodded and Peyton and Rachel began to walk towards the kitchen.

"Hey Peyton," Brooke called after her. "I'm really glad you're ok." Peyton nodded and she and Rachel walked to the kitchen, pausing for a minute to talk to Lucas. Once they had left his side, she went and stood next to him again. A few minutes later, Rachel came out of the kitchen and came over to Lucas.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked him. He nodded and they walked into his bedroom. He shut the door behind him. "Lucas, I just wanted to thank you for saving Peyton's life. I don't know what I would've done if she hadn't made it."

"I don't either," he said, and the two smiled. "Does Brooke know about you two?"

"No, Peyton's gonna wait a while to tell her. Just you, Mouth, and Larry know."

"Larry?"

"Yeah, he kinda saw us kissing in the hospital yesterday." Lucas laughed a little.

"Nice." She nodded and smiled.

"Ok, well, I just wanted to thank you, and to tell you that, I'm really sorry about Keith. I didn't know him very well, but I know that he was a good guy."

"Thanks Rachel," he said, and the two hugged briefly. They broke apart and opened the door, walking out of the room. Brooke looked at them curiously. Rachel walked into the kitchen to find Peyton.

"What was that about?" Brooke asked Lucas.

"Oh, she just needed to ask me something." Brooke nodded, not believing him, but knowing that she probably wasn't going to tell her the truth. About an hour later, Peyton began to get very tired, so Rachel and Larry took her home. Rachel left after telling her about the plans for the party the next night. Peyton agreed to go and then fell asleep.

**The Party**

Brooke had just finished telling Lucas about the party. He walked into the library to see Peyton and Rachel sitting at one of the tables. Rachel was sitting behind Peyton, gently massaging her shoulders, and Peyton was leaning into her. Luke smiled slightly at the sight of them, he had to admit, they were good together.

"Hey guys," he said to them

"Hey," they replied together. He sat down at the table with them.

"We've gotta stop meeting up like this," he said to Peyton. She smiled at him.

"How are you doing Luke," she asked him. He shrugged in response. "Luke, I know you're hurting, but let Brooke help you with this, please don't shut her out."

"Did she say something to you?"

"No, it's just, I know how you are, I'm the same way. Just let her help you deal, ok?'

"Ok," he said as the two girls stood up. He followed suit and walked with them back into the party. They went over to talk to Mouth and Brooke came over to him.

"Hey, do you wanna dance?" she asked him. He let her lead him towards another hallway, when he heard something that made him snap.

"Hey, we got a shooter here, shooters in the hallway," said a guy. Lucas lost it and slammed the guy into a locker.

"Pull your head out of your ass, and show some respect," he said angrily before slamming his hand against the locker and walking out of the school. Brooke followed him and asked him to stay, but he said that he couldn't, but she wouldn't understand, because she wasn't there.

"I was there," said Rachel as she came up with Mouth. "And if a party helps to bring people together, then why not?"

"Rachel, you know this is wrong. Somebody…died in that hallway."

"No Luke, two people died," Mouth responded.

"I'm sorry guys, I know you're trying to help, but I just can't." He said, and walked off. The three looked disappointed and walked back into the school. About an hour later, Peyton was getting exhausted, so Rachel took her home. They went up to her room and laid down on her bed together.

"I wish there was something we could do for Lucas, he's just so upset, I wish we could help." Peyton said. Rachel looked stumped for a moment, and then her face lit up.

"I have the best idea to help everybody deal," Rachel said happily.

**There it is, hope everyone liked it. Thanks for all the reviews, please tell me what you think of this one. Next update up in a couple days, the gang goes to Rachel's cabin. Please R&R.**


	8. Chapter 8 Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 8- Secrets Revealed.**

**Disclaimer- Sadly, I own nothing to do with One Tree Hill. **

**Thoughts are in italics**

**A/N- After Nathan stole the ring the first time, Haley didn't get it back until he re-proposed.**

Rachel had pitched the idea to Peyton and everyone else, and everyone agreed. They were going to go up to Rachel's cabin for 2 nights. Everyone was meeting at Lucas's house and they'd drive up from there. It was about a two and a half hour drive.

"Does anyone know anything about this place we're going to?" Hailey asked as Skillz and Mouth and Nathan loaded the car.

"All Rachel said is that it's some kind of cabin," Peyton told them.

"Aw, does Rachel really have to come? Can't we just leave her?"

"Umm, considering it's her family's place, I don't really think we have an option." Peyton said, smiling at Brooke, wishing so much that she could talk to her. _Just tell her the truth, she won't freak out. What am I thinking, of course she'll freak out, she despises Rachel. Ok, I promise myself, before the weekend is over, I will tell Brooke and Haley about me and Rachel. _

Her thoughts were interrupted when Rachel's car pulled up.

"Hey party people," she said with a smile. "You ready to conquer the great outdoors?"

"Whatever you say," Skillz said as he loaded a suitcase that looked like it held enough stuff for a month into the car.

"Yeah, Skillz isn't really the outdoor type." Bevin said with a smile at him.

"Ok, so car arrangements. I was thinking Naley and Brucas in Nathan's car and me, Blondie, Mouth Skillz and Bevin in mine." Rachel said. Everyone agreed, and were amused when she used their couple names, Naley and Brucas. "Ok, let's hit the road. It's about a two and a half hour drive, and the place is kind of hard to find so you guys should stay behind me, ok?"

"Alright," Nathan answered, and everyone grabbed their remaining stuff and threw it into Rachel's car. Brooke walked over to Peyton who was chatting with Haley.

"Peyton, are you sure you don't wanna ride with us?" Brooke asked her. "We've got room for one more and then you wouldn't be riding with queen of the sluts," she said, in reference to Rachel. Peyton had to resist rolling her eyes. There was no denying that Rachel had been a slut before Peyton, but afterwards she was obviously not sleeping around anymore. The school had started to get pretty suspicious of her and Peyton since they hung out more and half the school already thought that Peyton liked girls. So, Rachel had started rumors about herself that she'd slept with a multitude of different guys. Neither girl was ready for the school to find out, especially Rachel, since her last school had been awful on so many levels.

"No, it's cool, I like Rachel." Brooke glared irritably. "Brooke, you should get to know her, she's a really great person." Brooke looked suspicious.

"Peyton, do you want to tell me something?" she asked her.

"Brooke, Rachel and I are"…._God just tell her, it'll make life so much easier. _"Rachel and I are friends, she's a good person, just get to know her." Brooke nodded and smiled at her and began to walk towards the car where everyone was waiting for her. "Damn it," Peyton mumbled under her breath. Rachel came up behind her and put a comforting hand on her back.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said and got into the front seat of the SUV. Bevin and Skillz were in the way back, making out, and Mouth was sitting in the middle section. Rachel pulled away from the house and they began to drive towards her cabin. A few minutes later, they heard a low moan coming from the way back. Rachel adjusted her mirror. Skillz was kissing Bevin down her neck and sucking on her pulse point.

"Hell no you two! Do not get freaky in my car, you'll ruin the leather."

"We're just kissing," Bevin said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, just kissing leads to lots of other things, none of which I want going on in my car. Wait until we get to the cabin._" _Bevin sighed and put her head on Skillz shoulder.

Brooke and Lucas were kissing in the back seat when Brooke pulled away, looking irritated.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked her, sounding concerned.

"It's Peyton."

"What about her?" Haley asked from the front seat.

"Her and Rachel, it's getting weird, they're hanging out all the time." Lucas tensed slightly.

"Brooke, they're friends, and Rachel is a nice person if you get to know her." he answered her. Brooke glared at him.

"Who's side are you on?"

"I'm not taking sides. If Peyton wants to be friends with Rachel, good for her. She deserves it." Brooke looked irritated but put her head on his shoulder and dozed off.

When Rachel looked back a few minutes later, she saw that Bevin and Skillz were both fast asleep. After a while, Mouth had fallen asleep too. Rachel noted this with a smirk. She moved one hand off the steering wheel and over to Peyton's thigh and began to rub in slow circles. Peyton closed her eyes, and Rachel smiled. They hadn't had sex yet, but Rachel was fine with taking things slow, but she also knew that what she was doing to her right now drove her crazy. Peyton seemed really tense today though.

"Babe, are you alright?" Rachel asked her. "You seem kind of upset."

"I'm fine, I'm just thinking about how I'm gonna tell Brooke."

"Tell her when you're ready."

"It's more complicated than that. I mean, first, she's gonna be pissed as hell for me not telling her sooner. And then, she's going to get even madder when I tell her that I'm dating you. She hates you with a passion, hun, and I just don't think she'll accept it." Rachel moved her hand from Peyton's thigh to her shoulder and gently squeezed her shoulder.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we tell her together. Then, when she names all the reasons she hates me, I can counteract them."

"How?"

"Well, say she brings up Lucas and I's little game of strip basketball. A-they were non-exclusive, B-nothing happened and C-she did hook up with Chris Keller that night."

"And you naked in the backseat of his car…"

"Innocent fun between two single people." Peyton looked worried. "Peyton, honey, I promise, it'll all work out ok."

"I believe you," Peyton said, and the two girls eyes locked for a moment, and they realized that they were going to be ok. The rest of the drive up was uneventful. They arrived at the cabin a couple hours later. Rachel led them all inside and explained the layout of the place.

"There's five bedrooms, take anyone but the master," she said, and couples immediately broke off to get rooms. Rachel came up behind Peyton and whispered seductively in her ear. "And you, Blondie, are gonna be bunking with me."

"Think so?" Peyton asked teasingly.

"Get your cute little ass upstairs," she said, and the two girls ran up the stairs and into the master, slamming the door behind them. Rachel smirked at Peyton and the two began to make out. Rachel backed them towards the bed and they fell back onto it, with Rachel straddling Peyton. They'd been laying on the bed making out for about twenty minutes when they heard a cry of frustration come from another room. Rachel rolled her eyes and reluctantly rolled off of Peyton. The two straightened out their clothes a bit before walking down the hall to see what was wrong.

"Hailey, what's the matter?" Peyton asked her.

"My ring is gone," she said in a panicked voice.

"You're wedding ring?" Rachel said. Hailey nodded. "Why'd you take it off?"

"Is that really important right now," she asked her with a glare as she continued to sort through all her stuff.

"Haley, just calm down. We'll find it, ok. Just think, where did you have it last?"

"Um, I definitely had it on the car ride over and then I started unpacking and then, oh…" she said and ran over the bed and into the bathroom, leaving Peyton and an amused Rachel to follow. "I think I actually took it off when I washed my hands." She checked the countertop and then stared at the drain. "Oh my God, if I washed it down the drain, Nathan is going to freak out."

"Ok, even if it is down the drain, we can still get it back. Do you have a pipe wrench?" she asked Rachel. Rachel scoffed.

"Oh sure, in my purse next to the belt sander." Haley grabbed Rachel by the jacket.

"Listen jokey, if you don't find a pipe wrench, then I'll find one and beat you with it, ok?" Rachel removed Haley's hand from her jacket.

"So glad I invited you. I'll get the tool box." She walked downstairs and into the garage and found it and brought it back upstairs. The girls knelt down on the floor and Peyton sifted through the box until she found what she was looking for. She laid down on the floor and unscrewed the pipe. It fell off and a disgusting looking white fluid came pouring into the bucket type thing that Peyton had put below it. All three girls moved back slightly in disgust.

"What is that?" Hailey asked as Peyton pulled out the bucket and looked at it with a grimace.

"Well, hopefully it's the crap hiding your ring."

"So what, we just, sift through it?" Peyton and Rachel laughed.

"Oh no, we," she said, indicating her self and Rachel, "don't sift through it." Haley reluctantly took the bucket from Peyton.

"Look, maybe it's not in there," Rachel said. "Where else in the house have you been?"

"Just to check out the other bedrooms." Rachel held up a pair of orange gloves and Haley took them. Rachel offered to go check out the other rooms and check for her ring. She walked down the hallway and opened one of the bedroom doors without knocking and came across Brooke in a very compromising position with herself.

"Whoa, sorry," Rachel said and quickly shut the door. It opened a few seconds later and Brooke walked out looking pissed as hell.

"That was not what it looked like, you saw nothing."

"Brooke, I am so sorry, I was just looking for Haley's ring. I had no idea that you would be in there um… Brooking yourself."

"Very funny, now I suppose you're gonna go blab about this to everyone."

"Brooke, I promise, I won't say a word." Haley walked in behind them. "Haley, find your ring?"

"No, I didn't. I found like a nickel and a really gross assortment of drain hair dating back to the late 80s."

"Your wedding ring? Nathan is going to kill you!" Brooke said. Haley glared at her. Peyton walked in and over to a cabinet.

"The bathroom's a mess, are there any extra paper towels in here?" she asked as she tried to open the cabinet. Rachel rushed over and put her hands in front of there. "Why is it locked?"

"Sorry, this cabinets off limits."

"Why, what's in there?" Brooke asked her.

"It's just private, you know how people don't like private things revealed," she said pointedly, and Brooke got the message to shut up. Peyton and Haley exchanged a glance and after telling them about the club night, Peyton walked out followed by Haley. Brooke glared at Rachel and went back to her room, and Rachel checked the lock on the cabinet before walking into her room to finish unpacking.

Later that night, they had all come back from the club. Most people went to bed, but Rachel and Peyton decided to get into the hot tub. They were sitting in the warm water, talking and laughing.

"How's your leg doing?" Rachel asked her.

"Good, the hot tub helps." She scooted closer to Rachel and put her head on her shoulder. Rachel wrapped her arm around her.

"I'm really glad you're ok," Rachel said softly to Peyton. She looked up and smiled at her before she kissed her gently on the lips. It started off gently, but quickly turned heated. Rachel ran her tongue along Peyton's bottom lip, and she granted her access. Their tongues began to crash together. Peyton moaned softly, and was about to pull away and suggest that they went upstairs when…

"You know, you're lucky that it's us and not say, Brooke and Haley, that saw you two in this rather compromising position." Mouth said with a smirk as he and Lucas walked over to the hot tub. The girls pulled apart, a little irritated at the interruption.

"Mind if we join you?" Lucas asked. Peyton gave him a look. "In the hot tub, Peyton, geez, get your mind out of the gutter." They all laughed and the two guys got in.

"How you feeling, Peyt?" Lucas asked her.

"Oh, you know. How bout you Luke, you are you doing?"

"I'm dealing with it. But, this weekend is definitely helping, so thank you Rachel." She nodded and smiled. The four talked for a while and then went up to bed, and Rachel and Peyton fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day everyone hung out and relaxed. After dinner, they decided to play I never.

"Ok, I'll start. I've never had sex in the back seat of a car," Bevin said. Rachel, Brooke, Peyton, Nathan, Lucas, Skillz and Bevin all drank. "Peyton, you do one."

"Alright. I've never flashed a cop." Rachel and Brooke were the only ones to drink. Everyone looked at them.

"Got me out of a ticket," Rachel said, and Brooke said ditto. Everyone laughed.

"Mk, I've never made out with another girl," Brooke said. Rachel glanced sideways at Peyton. Brooke didn't catch this though as both girls drank.

"Peyton, who was this girl and how did I not know about it?" Brooke asked her.

"You've already had your question," she said, and everyone laughed as Brooke got irritated when Peyton wouldn't tell her who. She turned to Rachel.

"How bout you, Rachel, who was it?"

"Someone at my old school."

"She must have been drunk off her ass to make out with you," Brooke said with a smirk. Rachel glared at her.

"Ok, my turn. I never got caught Brooking myself in the bedroom yesterday." Brooke gasped.

"You said you weren't gonna tell."

"Well, we didn't shake on it." she said with a satisfied smirk. "Come on Brooke, drink up." Brooke raised her glass to Rachel and took a sip. Bevin took a sip of hers too.

"Hold on baby, why are you drinking?" Skillz asked her. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Mm hmm, I Brooke myself all the time." Everyone laughed. They played I never for about an hour when people decided to split up for a while. Bevin and Skillz got in the hot tub, Mouth, Nathan, Lucas, Brooke and Haley sat in the living room and talked. Rachel and Peyton had disappeared.

Peyton and Rachel walked into the master bedroom, laughing over their game of I never. Rachel put her hands on Peyton's waist and gently pulled her close to her, kissing her softly. Their kisses began to get more and more intense, and Rachel backed them over to the bed. Peyton moved her hands to the hem of Rachel's top and they broke their kiss for a moment to discard it. Rachel pulled Peyton's top off and the two resumed making out. The back of Peyton's knees hit the bed and she fell back onto it with Rachel on top of her. Rachel began to kiss her down her neck and sucked on her pulse point. Peyton moaned and moved her hands to the back of Rachel's bra. Rachel stopped what she was doing and looked into Peyton's eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Life's too short, I learned that the hard way." Rachel nodded and kissed her on the lips as she felt Peyton unclasp her bra, and she allowed it to fall to the floor.

Meanwhile…

"Has anyone seen Peyton?" Brooke asked. The five were sitting around talking, but Brooke was worried about Peyton.

"No, she went upstairs a little while ago, she said she wasn't feeling too well." Haley answered her.

"I'm gonna go check on her, make sure she's ok. Do you wanna come?" Brooke asked Haley. She nodded and the two stood up and walked up the stairs. Mouth registered what was about to happen first.

"Lucas, they really shouldn't go up there." Lucas realized exactly what the two girls were going to walk in on. The two guys got up followed by a very confused Nathan, but the scream of shock from upstairs told them that they were too late.

2 minutes earlier…

Brooke and Haley walked upstairs towards the master bedroom to find Peyton.

"We should be quiet, if she's not feeling well, we don't wanna wake her," Haley said, and Brooke nodded. They got to the master bedroom and Brooke raised her hand to knock when she heard a moan of pleasure coming from inside. Both girls looked shocked.

"Wait a minute, Nathan, Lucas and Mouth are all downstairs and Skillz is in the hot tub with Bevin and we're right here." Brooke said. "The only two unaccounted for are…" understanding dawned on both of their faces. "No way," Brooke said and flung the door open. The two were making out intensely. Rachel was straddling Peyton, and the two were both topless, their shirts and bras in a heap near the bed. They quickly broke apart when they heard the door open and Brooke's scream of shock. They reached down and grabbed their tops.

"Brooke…" Peyton started, but Brooke was already heading downstairs. "Brooke, wait," she said grabbing her shirt and running after her, pulling it on as she did. Haley looked at Rachel, shocked. Rachel stood up and walked past her after Brooke and Peyton and Haley followed. Peyton ran down the stairs after Brooke. "Brooke stop, let me explain."

"You and, I mean, you're dating, uh" she said, trying to form words. Haley and Rachel came down the stairs and into the family room where everyone was standing.

"I wanted to tell you."

"How long?" she said with an angry look on her face.

"A little over a month." Brooke scoffed, shocked.

"A little over a month??" she practically screamed. "You've been dating… her, for a little over a month and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

"I figured you'd probably take it badly."

"You're damn right I'm going to take it badly."

"Brooke, I should have told you that I liked girls."

"Peyton, I don't care that you like girls. I always thought you might be bi. It's you liking her that I can't stand."

"Brooke…"

"No, Peyton. You're dating my worst enemy. She has tried to take everything from me. My boyfriend, my squad, and now she's taking you." She started to cry a little bit. "She is a conniving bitch, Peyton, and I can't deal with you two being together. I'm sorry." She turned to Lucas. "Will you take me home?"

"Brooke, I think you guys need to talk…"

"Lucas, I asked you to take me home."

"Brooke, please, just talk to me."

"I can't right now Peyton, I just can't." She walked outside and they heard Nathan's car door slam.

"I'm so sorry you guys. I think she just needs some time to cool off," Lucas said. Peyton nodded, feeling numb. "I'm going to take her home, she'll be ready to talk by Monday, I'm sure. Nathan, can I take your car?" Nathan nodded and handed him the keys and told him that they'd bring their stuff back with them tomorrow. After he'd left, Mouth, Haley, Rachel and Nathan all turned to Peyton. She looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, but instead, she simply started walking upstairs.

"Peyton," Rachel called after her. Peyton didn't stop, instead, she started running towards the master bedroom and slammed the door shut. Rachel went upstairs and tried to get in, but the door was locked. She knocked lightly.

"Peyton, honey, please, talk to me." Peyton's muffled reply came through the door.

"Rachel, please, I just want to be alone right now. Just go explain it to everybody, I just need to think, ok?"

"Ok hun," she said, but didn't get a reply that time. She stood up and walked back downstairs. Nathan and Haley were still looking shocked. Mouth was standing there, looking upset over Brooke's reaction. Skillz and Bevin walked in through the back door and noted the looks on everyone's faces.

"Did we miss something?" Bevin asked.

**There it is, hope everyone liked it. First off, thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story so far. I really appreciate it. Also, I don't have plans to end this fic any time soon, I have a lot of really great ideas as to what to do with it, see how much Rachel and Peyton's relationship can endure. **

**I do have a question for my readers though. Would you rather see Peyton and Brooke be on the outs for awhile and have it kind of be a will Peyton throw her relationship with Rachel away even though they're falling in love. I don't care so much for this idea because it puts Brooke in a pretty bad light, and I don't really think her characters like that. Not to mention, there's less drama, and I love writing dramatic stuff. Or (and here was my original idea for this story) the girls make up quickly, Brooke accepts them together, and then tragedy hits. Now, personally, I think that the tragedy version is better, but it's pretty dark subject matter, and I don't want people to stop reading because of it. I'm almost positive that I gave away what was going to happen there, but it's late and I'm kind of tired, so who knows, lol. Please tell me what you think of the chapter and then your opinions, cuz I'm kind of stumped on what to do. Like I said, I'm leaning one way but I don't want people to stop reading. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks again!**


	9. Chapter 9 Apologies

-1**Thank you for the reviews and input, Onetreehillfan1988 and maggieus. I was going to go with Brooke and Peyton being on the outs for a while, but then I had a burst of inspiration (and a little help from Onetreehillfan1988 for reminding me that psycho Derek showed up around this time in the show, not too sure how I forgot about that one) and I came up with a whole new idea, less tragic, but still dramatic. Anyway, the big drama won't happen for a few chapters, but I did decide to have Peyton and Brooke make up, because I just can't see Brooke being that big of a bitch about Peyton being bi. So, here's the next chapter, hope everyone likes it.**

**Chapter 9- A.P.O.L.O.G.Y?**

Lucas and Brooke had been driving in silence for about an hour. It was about midnight.

"Brooke, I think you were a little hard on Peyton," Lucas said, not being able to take the silence any longer. She turned her head and glared at him.

"She's been dating my worst enemy, behind my back, for almost a month. I don't really think I was that hard on her."

"Brooke, I know you hate Rachel, but she makes Peyton happy, and,"

"Did you know about them?" Brooke interrupted. Lucas opened his mouth but closed it again. "Did you?"

"Yes." Brooke gaped at him in astonishment. "She told me in the library. Brooke, she was bleeding and she thought she was going to die, so she asked me to talk to Rachel for her if she didn't make it."

"And me?"

"She asked me to explain things to you too."

"But you didn't."

"No, Brooke, I didn't. She wanted to tell you herself. She was so scared that you were going to take it badly, but, thank God, she was wrong." he said with a pointed glare towards her.

"Don't try and make me feel guilty Lucas. Rachel is a bitch, Peyton deserves better."

"Rachel isn't a bad person, Brooke."

"Oh, really? Ok, let's start with her trying to steal you from me at the beginning of the school year."

"Brooke, we were non-exclusive, and she backed off after we got back together."

"Ok, fine, trying to steal my squad."

"Sure, ok, she tried to steal your squad, but hasn't she backed off since the Classic?"

"Yes, so…"

"That's when she and Peyton got together. She cares about Peyton, Brooke. She was a bitch at first, but now, Peyton's changed her to be a better person. I know you guys don't get along, but, you need to give her a chance." Brooke looked a little upset. "And also, is it really worth losing your best friend over?"

"No, oh, you're right. God, I was such a bitch. Can we go back?" Lucas raised his eyebrows at her. "Ok, stupid idea. I'll talk to her tomorrow, after we've both had a chance to calm down."

"I think that's a good plan," he said, and they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Back at the cabin, Rachel was sitting down in the family room and had just finished telling the gang about her and Peyton.

"Wow," Nathan said. "Just, wow," he said as his face went into a dreamy expression. Haley glared at him and hit him upside the head.

"I'm gonna go try and talk to Peyton," Haley said. She walked upstairs and knocked on the master bedroom door. "Peyton, it's Haley, can I come in?" She heard footsteps and the door opened. She walked inside. "Are you ok?" Peyton raised her eyebrows at her incredulously. "Ok, stupid question. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm ok with you and Rachel. I mean, if you're happy, that's all that matters."

"I was happy, now I'm kind of miserable."

"Peyton, Brooke overreacted. I'm sure she's going to be ok with it once she calms down. It's just that, she hates Rachel, and you two, definitely caught us by surprise," she said, blushing a little at the memory of what she had witnessed last night.

"Yeah, to be honest, that wasn't the way that I wanted you two to find out. I was planning on telling you this weekend, but I just didn't know how you guys would take it."

"Just give her time to cool off, Peyton, Brooke will come around. I promise."

"Thanks Haley," she said, and the two hugged. Haley nodded and left the room, passing Rachel as she did. Rachel smiled at her and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She pulled Peyton into a hug.

"It's gonna be ok babe. It'll all be ok."

"I believe you," she said. The two kissed and then climbed into bed. Rachel wrapped her arms around Peyton's waist and they fell asleep.

The next day, everyone was loaded in the car and driving home. Rachel was driving and Peyton was in the passengers seat. Haley and Nathan were in the middle section, and Skillz and Bevin and Mouth were in the way back. Along with nine people's luggage, it was a tight fit. Peyton kept changing the music, not being able to settle on anything, and Nathan kept bugging Rachel and Peyton for "details," something that Haley, Rachel, or Peyton did not find particularly amusing. They were still an hour and a half away, and everyone was on edge.

Peyton changed CD's for the 7th time in 20 minutes. "Peyton, honey, please, just settle on a CD," Rachel said, starting to get annoyed. Peyton sighed and sat back.

"I'm sorry, I'm just freaking out about Brooke. I mean, what if I try and talk to her, and she's really not ok with it?"

"She will be Peyton, don't worry about it. She just needed some time to process everything." Haley says in a comforting voice. "I think if you'd just told her, it would've worked better than us walking in when you two were…how you were."

"How were they, exactly," Nathan said with a pervy grin. Haley glared at him. "What, it's not everyday that a guy finds out that one of his best friends is dating a very hot cheerleader, and," he paused for dramatic effect. "they're both girls." Everyone in the car laughed.

"Nathan," Haley said, irritated with him, "it's very important for you to remember that you're married."

"I think what she's getting at dawg is you ain't gonna be married for long if you keep on asking Goldilocks and Red for details about their sex life," Skillz said. Everyone laughed, including Peyton and Haley. Maybe Rachel was right. Maybe everything would be ok.

A couple hours later and Rachel and Peyton had finally finished dropping everyone off. They pulled up to Peyton's house.

"Do you wanna come in for a little while? My dad's here, but we could just talk." 

"Sure thing babe," she said and the two girls walked into the house.

"Hey dad, I'm home," Peyton called. Larry came walking up to them, smiling. He pulled Peyton into a hug.

"How's my baby girl doing?"

"I've been better."

"You're leg bothering you?" he asked her, concerned.

"No, Brooke and I kind of got into a fight."

"About what?" Rachel saw the look on Peyton's face, the look that clearly stated that she didn't want to tell this story one more time, so Rachel took over.

"She found out about us, and not in the greatest way," Rachel said.

"So, why was Brooke mad? Because you didn't tell her sooner?"

"Nope, because she hates me," Rachel said. Peyton looked close to tears again.

"Well, I'm sure she'll come around to it, don't worry. Everything will work itself out."

"Thanks dad. We're just going to go upstairs and hang out, is that ok?" He looked a little suspicious.

"Alright, fine, but keep the door open." The girls rolled their eyes and Peyton picked up her duffel and they walked upstairs and into her room. Peyton closed the door most of the way and Rachel smirked.

"Between your dad, Brooke and Haley, or Lucas and Mouth, I don't know who ruins our moments the most." Peyton laughed a little and laid down on the bed. Rachel laid beside her. "Are you going to go talk to Brooke?"

"Maybe in a little while. I think I'm going to take a nap now, I got no sleep last night."

"Ok, do you want me to leave?"

"No, stay, I like having you near me, it makes me feel safe." Rachel smiled and wrapped her arms around her girl, and the two fell asleep within minutes.

About an hour later, Larry came upstairs to tell the girls that he had to run out for a few hours, but found them fast asleep. He smiled and left a note instead and left the house. About thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Rachel awoke, but Peyton didn't. She disentangled herself from her and walked downstairs, and was surprised at who she found standing there.

"Hey," Brooke said softly. Rachel glared at her. "Is Peyton here?"

"Depends, do you want to apologize or yell at her some more?"

"I want to apologize. I definitely overreacted. Is she here?" Rachel nodded and moved aside to let Brooke in.

"She's upstairs, asleep." Brooke nodded and began to walk towards the staircase, but Rachel stopped her. "If you make her feel any worse than she already does…"

"I won't, I promise," Brooke said, cutting her off. Rachel nodded and let her go. Brooke walked upstairs and into Peyton's room. She sat down next to her on the bed and shook her lightly. "Wake up Pey," she said. Peyton opened her eyes and sat up.

"What are you doing here? Where's Rachel?"

"She's downstairs, and I wanted to apologize."

"I'm listening."

"Peyton, I'm so sorry for the way I acted. I was out of line. I was just shocked, and upset. I wish you'd told me sooner, but I get why you didn't. Lucas talked to me, and he's right, I think Rachel's become a better person since you guys started dating, but I was just too caught up in my own life to see it. Can you forgive me?"

"Yeah, I can." The two girls hugged. "I really didn't want to lose my best friend, again." Peyton said, and Brooke laughed a little.

"Yeah, same here." They pulled apart, glad that they'd fixed their problems. "So, who all knows?"

"Umm, everyone who was at the cabin and my dad."

"Not going to tell anyone else?"

"No, I was only planning on telling you and Haley, since Lucas and Mouth already knew, but," she said, trailing off.

"Yeah, sorry, that was my bad. I don't think anyone will spread it around though. Well, maybe Bevin, but…"

"No, I asked her to keep quiet about it and she said she would."

"So, Mouth already knew?"

"Oh, yeah he found out a while ago."

"You told him before me?" Brooke asked with a semi-hurt expression.

"No, not exactly, he just sort of saw us kissing, which seems to be how most people are finding out." Brooke laughed.

"Yeah, well, you two were doing a little more than kissing when I walked in." Peyton blushed. "I didn't think you two would have sex with 7 other people in the cabin and not lock the door."

"Caught up in the moment."

"That happen a lot?" she said with a smirk. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"No, for your information, Rachel and I haven't slept together yet."

"That's good, you should probably get her tested." Peyton glared at her. "Sorry, cheap shot. I'm gonna have to learn to get along with Rachel, aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be no problem," she said sarcastically. Peyton rolled her eyes again and hit Brooke lightly on the arm. They were laughing when they heard a crash from downstairs. They got up and ran into the kitchen to find Rachel standing in the middle of a pile of pots and pans.

"What the hell happened?" Peyton asked.

"Well, I was trying to grab a cookie sheet, but my plan backfired and everything sort of, fell out of the cabinet. I'm sorry." Peyton laughed.

"You know, it's lucky you're hot, or I wouldn't know what to do with you," she said with a smirk. Rachel laughed a little and looked to the two of them.

"So, I'm guessing you two made up?"

"Yeah, everything's good now," Brooke said.

"Good, I'm glad." she said as she leaned down and started putting the pans back in the cabinet. When she'd finished, she grabbed a cookie sheet, rinsed it off, and set it on the counter. "Chocolate chip cookies, anyone?" she asked them with a smile.

**There it is, hope everyone liked it. As I said before, I'm going to go in a whole new direction, with some major drama, but that won't happen for a few chapters. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, constructive criticism is always appreciated too. Next chapter up in a couple days. **


	10. Chapter 10 Pearl Harbor and Brooke

**Chapter 10- Pictures, Pearl Harbor, and Brooke.**

**Thank you for the review Onetreehillfan1988, I really appreciate it.**

**A/N- I changed the rating from M to T. I read it over and I just don't think it's M. If a chapter needs a warning, I'll post one.**

Rachel and Peyton were sitting on the couch together eating chocolate chip cookies. Brooke had left about two hours ago to go hang out with Lucas.

"You know, I think you're right. This whole, desert no dinner thing is really good," Rachel said, and Peyton laughed.

"I told you," she said with a smirk. Peyton disentangled herself from Rachel and went over to the movie cabinet. "Alright, what do you wanna watch?" Rachel thought for a moment before responding.

"Pearl Harbor." Peyton rolled her eyes.

"What is it with you and these epic tragic films?"

"I don't know, I just have a thing for them." Peyton laughed lightly and put the movie in. She sat back down on the couch, snuggling into Rachel. The girls watched the movie for about half an hour before Peyton spoke.

"Rachel, what was in the cabinet?"

"Hmm," Rachel said, having been to engrossed in the movie to fully pay attention to her.

"The cabinet in your cabin. It was locked. What was in there?"

"Pictures," Rachel said honestly.

"Of…"

"Me."

"And that's why you locked the cabinet? Were you that ugly of a baby or something?" Rachel laughed.

"I wish. No, they were pictures of me from about 3 years ago. When I didn't look like this."

"What do you mean?" Peyton asked as she paused the movie.

"I was, to put it simply, fat. So, I had my stomach stapled, starved myself for months, and then rewarded myself with fake breasts, a nose job, and a couple other things." Peyton looked stunned. "Don't believe me?"

"No, not really. You just don't look like you've ever had plastic surgery."

"The doctor's did a great job."

"Are you glad you did the surgeries?"

"Yes. I was lonely, scared, and unattractive back then. Now, I have friends, and I'm attractive. I still have self esteem issues, but I feel so much better about myself. I made extreme choices and got extreme results." Peyton contemplated this for a moment. "Does it change how you feel about me?"

"No, of course not, nothing could change how I feel about you. I don't care about who you were then, I care about who you are now." She kissed her and then Rachel grabbed the remote to start the movie, and received a playful eye roll from Peyton.

"By the way, attractive is not the word I'd use to define you." Rachel looked back to Peyton with raised eyebrows. "I think I'd use the word, gorgeous, beautiful, or unbelievably sexy." Rachel laughed and the two kissed again, this time it was more heated. Rachel flipped their positions so that she was straddling Peyton, who was lying on the couch. She ran her tongue along Peyton's bottom lip, causing her to moan slightly. Peyton moved her hands to the hem of Rachel's t-shirt when…

"Hey Peyton, I'm…whoa, sorry." The two girls broke apart and sat up. Brooke smirked. "I just thought I'd tell you I'm home, I didn't know you still had company." She glanced at the tv. "Ooh, Pearl Harbor, I love this movie." Rachel glared at her, clearly irritated that she'd interrupted her and Peyton, again, but Peyton just laughed.

"Do you want to watch it with us?" Peyton asked, and Brooke nodded but stayed standing. The two girls looked at her expectantly, but Brooke shook her head and moved the two away from each other so that she could sit in the middle.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked as she sat down.

"Making sure that the two of you keep your hands off each other. I'm ok with you two being together, but I'm not quite ready to see you guys full on making out all the time."

"Don't worry, I honestly just want to watch the movie," Rachel said.

"It didn't look that way 2 minutes ago." She turned her attention to Peyton. "Caught up in the moment much?" and the two laughed. Rachel rolled her eyes at them and grabbed the remote to un-pause the movie, but Brooke stopped her. Brooke grabbed her purse and pulled something out and handed it over to Rachel. "I think this belongs to you," she said, and Rachel gasped.

"How the hell did you get this?"

"I broke into your cabinet and took it out. I was going to post it all around school, but I decided that since you're dating my best friend, I was going to be nice and give the picture back to you."

"Thanks Brooke, I really didn't want this to get out."

"No problem. But you should probably know that I did make a copy, so if you ever hurt Peyton in any way, I'll be forced to expose your little secret."

"Is that your version of you hurt my best friend, and I'll kick your ass?" Rachel asked her with a laugh.

"Pretty much." The three girls laughed and Rachel handed the picture to Peyton. Peyton studied it for a moment and then handed it back. Rachel tore it in half and threw it away. Peyton raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not going to hang on to pictures of a time when I was miserable. I'd rather remember the good times," she said, smiling at Peyton. Brooke looked back and forth between the two of them as Rachel sat back down.

"You guys are so adorable," she said with a smirk. Peyton rolled her eyes and Rachel pushed play. Peyton started to ask a question, but both girls shushed her. She rolled her eyes again, maybe Rachel and Brooke were more alike than they thought, though she knew that neither one would ever admit to that.

The movie ended a couple hours later and in typical fashion for a Peyton/Rachel movie night. Peyton was barely crying, while Rachel was pretty much weeping, as was Brooke. It took a minute but the two finally collected themselves. Brooke stood up and announced that she was ready for bed.

"Night Brooke," Rachel said.

"Night Rachel." Brooke walked upstairs and Rachel stood up, as did Peyton.

"I should probably get going too." She grabbed her purse and walked towards the door with Peyton behind her. "I had a really great time tonight, and I'm glad that everything with you and Brooke worked out."

"Yeah, me too." She wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and kissed her softly. They broke apart and rested their foreheads together. "Maybe next time we won't get interrupted," she said with a smirk. Rachel laughed and the two broke apart completely. Peyton opened the door for her. "Bye babe."

"Bye sweetie," she said and walked to her car. Peyton waited until the car was out of sight before she closed the door. She walked upstairs and laid down next to Brooke.

"Thank you for giving her a chance," Peyton said to Brooke.

"Of course, Peyton. If you see something good in her, then there is. I trust your instincts."

"I'm really falling for her Brooke."

"I think she feels the same way."

"How can you tell?"

"Just, the way she looks at you, how protective she is of you. I hate to be the one to say it but, I think you two just might make it."

"Thanks Brooke, that means a lot to me." The two girls hugged and then turned the lights out and fell asleep.

**There it is, I hope everyone likes it. Next chapter will be up in a couple of days, and will pick up around the time when Cooper shows up at Nathan and Haley's at 1 am. Please review and tell me what you think. I'm more inspired to right if people review it. I love reviews and constructive criticism is always helpful, so please tell me what you think. Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11 Pool Drinking Games

**Chapter 11-Pool Drinking Games**

**Thanks for all the reviews everyone, I really appreciate it. **

**A/N- I changed my mind, this chapter doesn't pick up at one in the morning. It picks up one week after the last chapter. Also, sorry if I have the pool terminology incorrect. **

Peyton, Rachel, Lucas and Brooke had decided to go out for the night to cheer Lucas up after he walked off the court. They had gone to a bar. Peyton and Brooke were sitting at the bar, talking, and Lucas and Rachel were playing pool. Technically, they were using pool as an excuse for a drinking game, but pool nonetheless. Peyton watched as Rachel took a shot and the ball went in, and she smiled at her from across the room. Rachel winked back as Lucas took a sip of beer.

"So, Peyton, how are things going with you and Rachel?"

"They're good, they're really good."

"I'm glad, it's good to see you happy again. Even if it is with," she glanced over to see Rachel make a shot. Lucas rolled his eyes and took another drink of beer. "Her."

"Brooke, you said you were going to give her a chance."

"I am, but, she's getting my boyfriend drunk."

"That's only because she kicks ass at pool."

"Yeah, that's true. He really should work on his pool game, it's embarrassing." The two girls laughed at this and looked over to see Lucas miss a shot. Rachel smirked at him and he took a shot of vodka. Their rules were, you make a shot, the other person takes a sip of beer. If you miss a shot, you drink a shot. And the way Lucas was playing, he was bound to be drunk pretty soon.

"So, how are you and Lucas doing?" Peyton asked Brooke.

"We're good, I just wish I could do more for him. He seems so sad all the time."

"Well, he pretty much lost his dad, it's bound to take a while for him to heal. But don't worry, the old Lucas will be back soon."

"I hope you're right. I want the old Broody back."

"He'll be back soon, just give it time." Peyton felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. "Hey Haley, what are you doing here?"

"You mentioned that you guys were coming here, we figured we'd come and say hi," Haley said as she sat down next to Peyton and ordered a bottle of water.

"Hot Uncle Cooper!" Brooke exclaimed happily as Cooper and Nathan walked up behind them. Cooper laughed.

"Hey Brooke, hey Peyton." Peyton smiled back in response. Brooke was practically glowing, she loved Cooper. He glanced over to the pool table where Lucas and Rachel were playing. "Whoa, who is she? Any chance she's my age?" he asked Nathan. Nathan laughed. Peyton cleared her throat.

"That's my girlfriend you're hitting on." she said, and Cooper looked surprised.

"That is so very hot," he said with a smile, and Nathan nodded. Haley rolled her eyes and glared at Nathan, and then spotted Lucas taking another shot of vodka.

"I'll be right back," she said and walked over to him. "Hey Rachel. Lucas, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. She didn't give him a chance to respond as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. Rachel watched as they had a rather heated conversation in the corner.

"Lucas, are you out of your mind? You can't drink, you have HCM."

"Hales, I'm fine."

"Lucas, I know you are upset and in a bad place right now, but drinking your sorrows away and risking your life is not going to help." Lucas rolled his eyes at her, but grudgingly admitted that she was right. They walked back over to Rachel, and he told her that they should just play pool and not drink anymore.

"Fine with me, it's not like I was doing much drinking anyway," she said with a laugh. Haley nodded at them and walked back over to the bar. A few minutes later, Rachel won the game and took a victory shot of vodka, and then the two walked back over to the others.

"Hey babe, how'd the game go?" Peyton asked Rachel as Rachel sat on Peyton's lap as there were no empty stools available.

"I kicked his ass."

"We figured," Peyton said, smirking. "Oh, Rachel, this is Cooper, Nathan's uncle. Cooper, my girlfriend Rachel."

"Nathan's hot uncle," Brooke corrected Peyton.

"Nice to meet you," Cooper said, smiling at Rachel. She smiled back and looked at Peyton, confused as to why she had introduced her as her girlfriend, since they had decided not to tell anybody other than the people who already knew.

"He hit on you, so I had to inform him that you were seeing someone," Peyton said, and Rachel laughed. Cooper rolled his eyes.

"I said she was hot, and obviously you think so too," he sad to Peyton. Everyone laughed a little.

"So, you lost at pool to Rachel, huh?" Nathan asked Lucas, smirking.

"Yeah, honey, you should really work on your pool game. If you don't get better, I might just leave you for Cooper here." Lucas laughed and shook hands with Cooper.

"How you doing, Coop?" He asked, ignoring Brooke and Nathan.

"I'm doing alright, you?"

"So-so." He glanced at his watch. "Damn, we should head home you guys, it's late." Peyton glanced at Rachel's watch for the time.

"My dad is going to murder us, it's after one," she said to Brooke. She nodded and they got up from the bar with Rachel and Luke. Haley and Nathan and Cooper decided to call it a night too. They walked out to the parking lot together and parted with Haley's group before climbing into Rachel's car.

"By Coop, call me," Brooke said flirtatiously through the window before the car pulled away. Rachel drove them to Peyton's house, and Lucas walked Brooke up to the door so Peyton and Rachel could say goodbye.

"Such a gentleman," Peyton said, and Rachel laughed.

They kissed for a few minutes, completely forgetting about everything around them, when a knock on the passenger window reminded them that the world was still out there. They broke apart to find Larry standing there in a bathrobe, looking extremely irritated. The back door opened and Lucas got in. Larry motioned for Peyton to get out of the car. "Bye guys," she said and got out. Rachel waved before driving away to Lucas's to drop him off, and Peyton and Larry and Brooke went inside. They went up to their room and sat down on the bed, and Larry began to lecture.

"It is one thirty in the morning!" he exclaimed loudly. "Girls, I think it's about time that we went over the ground rules for this house. 9:00 curfew on weekdays, 12:00 on weekends. If you are out after 10, I need a call to know where you are. No boys in this bedroom, and no Rachel either unless it is between business hours and someone else is home. No parties without parental supervision, no alcohol," he said, the alcohol on both their breaths not going unnoticed. Brooke smiled a little, and Larry continued. "Do I need to go over the ground rules for sex?"

"No," both girls exclaimed, horrified.

"Good, and while we're on the subject, Brooke," he said, walking over to the closet door. "While you are living here, let's just assume that you are going to find another hot dad fantasy, ok?" he said, pointing to his own name. "Alright, goodnight ladies," he said and walked out of the room. Both girls fell back on the bed, laughing. They got ready for bed and fell asleep immediately.

**Sorry it's short, I just wanted to get a chapter up. Thank you so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate it and hope that you'll continue to tell me what you think. Also, Onetreehillfan1988, I think that the girls were originally going to have two beds, but in a couple episodes, they're shown lying in the same bed, but I could be wrong. Next chapter should be up in a couple days, I'm thinking that I'll move it forward to after Haley and Nathan's wedding so I can get to the major drama. And, I included the Larry sex talk, cuz it was too funny to leave out. Thanks again for all the reviews, please tell me what you think of this one.**


	12. Chapter 12 Poker and Cemeteries

-1**Chapter 12-Poker,Cemeteries and Shocking Secrets Revealed **

**Thanks for the reply, Onetreehillfan1988. **

**A/N-This chapter takes place after Haley and Nathan's wedding, after the party in Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Brooke's obviously still living with Peyton. Also, it's been ages since I've played Poker, so I am probably really off on the terms, so feel free to correct me.**

Rachel and Peyton were sitting in Karen's Café with Lucas and Brooke. Nathan and Haley were on their honeymoon in London. They were eating pie and talking.

"Hey guys, you need anything else?" Karen asked them.

"Nope, we're fine," Lucas told her. Karen smiled and walked back behind the counter.

"I have to use the restroom," Peyton said, and stood up, winking at Rachel as she did. Peyton walked into the back, and Rachel followed her a few seconds later. Brooke rolled her eyes.

"I swear, those two cannot keep their hands off each other."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Lucas said. Brooke slapped him. "Ow, what the hell?"

"Honestly, between you and Nathan, I don't know who's more annoying when it comes to those two."

Peyton and Rachel were making out against a wall in the back of the café. Things always seemed to get heated between the two, but they were always interrupted, either by Peyton's dad, Brooke, or Lucas.

"Oh my God," exclaimed a voice behind them. The girls broke apart to see Karen standing there holding a box. "I am so sorry girls, I was just going to put this box away, I had no idea that you two would be…" she trailed off.

"Don't be sorry Karen, it's not our café," Peyton said guiltily.

"So, how long have you girls been dating?" she asked them.

"A little over a month." Karen contemplated this for a moment and smiled.

"You girls make a cute couple." she said as she set the box down on the floor. "But for future reference, no inappropriate acts in the back of my café." she said with a pointed look at them.

"Of course," Rachel said, and the two girls walked back into the front of the café.

"Hey, what have you two been doing?" Lucas asked them with a smirk. Brooke glared at him, and he shut up.

"Just kissing, but your mom interrupted us," Rachel told him. Lucas laughed.

"You two should really learn to only do things behind locked doors. You're going to get interrupted by the wrong person one of these days," he told them.

"You're probably right, it's how everybody seems to be finding out. It's how Derek found out," Peyton said. Lucas and Rachel both frowned slightly at the mention of Derek, Peyton's new-found brother. Lucas found him creepy, Rachel found him scary as hell, but Peyton didn't seem to see it.

"How is Derek doing anyway?" Brooke asked her. She didn't see the creepiness either.

"He's good, I really like having him around, having family around. And, we get along well."

"It's so weird that you have a brother, and to find out now too."

"I know, I'm still getting used to it. But, it's always nice to have family around." She looked a little sad at this, and Rachel gently wrapped her arm around her. "I'm fine, it's just, I miss my moms, you know?"

"I know sweetie." The gang was silent for a moment, and then…

"Hot Uncle Cooper!" Brooke exclaimed happily. Lucas rolled his eyes, he knew that Brooke had a thing for Cooper, but he knew that nothing would happen_, Cooper wouldn't date a high school girl. There's no way Cooper would date a high-school girl, right? _His thoughts were interrupted when Cooper spoke.

"Hey Brooke, Lucas, hottest couple here," he said, acknowledging them all with a smile.

"Do you wanna join us, we were just about to play Poker," she said, pointing to the chips and cash on the table.

"I would love to, but I was going to see if Karen needs any help closing up." Karen came out from behind the counter and smiled at him.

"I just finished, actually. Go play, I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright, do you wanna play with us?"

"I would, but I'm going to go over to Deb's and see why she's carrying a gun around with her. A gun that went off in the café today, nonetheless. Do you know if she's back on drugs?"

"No, she's not, you can tell when she is. She's keeping her promise," Cooper told her.

"Thank God. Alright, well I'm gonna head over there. Lucas, lock up when you leave, alright?"

"Sure thing mom."

"Bye guys, have fun." she said and left the café.

"So, Poker time," Brooke said with a smile.

They'd been playing for an hour and Cooper and Brooke were winning, followed by Lucas and Rachel, and Peyton was almost out of chips. All their cash was in the middle of the table, it was the last draw. They all glanced at their cards.

"Coop, wanna make it interesting?" she said suggestively. Cooper laughed and Lucas rolled his eyes at her. She'd been making innuendos at him all night, and it was starting to get annoying.

"If you were just a few years older, I would definitely wanna make it interesting, no offense Lucas." Lucas laughed.

"None taken man. Damn, I fold." he said, setting his cards on the table.

"I fold," Peyton said.

"Shit, I'm gonna have to fold too." said Rachel.

"I raise," Brooke said before pushing all her chips into the center.

"I'll match that and call it." Cooper said, pushing his chips into the center.

"Moment of truth," Rachel said with a smirk. Cooper turned his cards over- he had a straight, in diamonds.

"Ooh, you're good Coop," she said, sounding disappointed. Cooper smirked and went to grab the chips, but Brooke put her hand on top of them. "But your just not good enough." She turned over her cards to reveal a Royal Flush.

"Damn it," he mumbled irritably as Brooke picked up all the cash in the center and began counting it.

"Yay me, there's three hundred bucks here! I can finally get that bag." she said, referring to the Gucci bag that she'd been pining over for weeks. Everyone laughed, Brooke was so predictable.

"Alright, we should get going, it's getting late," Lucas said, and the others agreed. They grabbed their stuff and walked to the front of the café.

"So, Nathan and Haley get home tomorrow, right?"

"Yep, and we still haven't decided if we're going to throw them a party." Brooke said, her eyes lighting up at the mention of a party.

"You know, considering how bad most parties turn out in this town, let's just avoid it. They've already had a wedding reception anyway." Everyone agreed and walked towards their cars.

"Coop, you walk here?" Rachel asked him.

"Yeah."

"We can drive you, I was just gonna stop at the cemetery first," Peyton said.

"We are?" Rachel said. She didn't care for cemeteries, especially at night.

"You know, that works out great, I should pay my respects for Keith."

"Alright, cool," she said, and they all got into Peyton's car and drove to the cemetery. The two girls got out, and Cooper was about to when his phone rang. He checked the caller id.

"I gotta take this, so I'll just meet you at Keith's grave, alright." Peyton and Rachel nodded and walked into the cemetery.

"Ok, what are we doing Pey, this place is creepy as hell." she said and moved closer to Peyton. Peyton wrapped her arm around her waist and continued walking until she found where she wanted to be.

"I want you to meet somebody," she said, pointing to the tombstone that read, Anna Rebecca. Rachel squeezed her arm gently.

"Mom, this is Rachel, Rachel, this is my mom."

"Hi Mrs. Sawyer," Rachel said quietly. Peyton knelt down in front of her grave. She talked to her quietly for a minute while Rachel read the tombstones nearby. A couple minutes later, Peyton stood up and walked over to Rachel. Rachel kissed her softly on the lips. Peyton smiled when they broke apart and the two walked over to where Cooper was. The three then made their way to Keith's grave. They stopped when somebody was already there, and that person was talking loudly. On instinct, the three ducked behind a tree. They realized that the person was Dan.

"Alright ghosty, what do you want from me, huh? I was wrong when I killed you, I know that now, and I'm sorry I did it. But you won't be alone up there for long, once my dear ex-wifie gets what's coming to her. Her grave will fit nicely next to yours, I'll make sure of that. And the best part is, no one will ever suspect that I was responsible for her death, just like no one knows that I killed you," he said, and turned around and walked towards where they were hiding. They were all shocked. Dan had killed Keith?! Cooper acted first. He got out from behind the tree.

"We'll know," he said. Dan turned to face him, looking horrified. "Peyton, call 911, I think they might wanna hear this one."

**Ok, there it is, hope everyone likes it. I hate Dan, and I especially hate that he and Karen are almost dating, so I decided to have him caught. Also, Deb's not back on painkillers. I have a question for everyone though, do you think that Cooper and Karen should date? They're only like 7 years apart, right? Please tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always appreciated too. I really am more inspired to write if people tell me what they think. Next chap up in a couple days, and the real drama will start! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13 An Unexpected Twist

**Chapter 13-An Unexpected Twist.**

**Thanks for the review, Onetreehillfan1988.**

**Ok, this chapter takes place over the span of about 4-6 weeks, give or take. It is meant to be completely confusing, but everything will be explained soon.**

Dan was convicted of murder and was sentenced to life without parole. When Karen found out that he had killed Keith, it had taken Lucas, Nathan and Cooper to keep her from attacking him. Nobody had ever seen someone so furious. Jimmy's mother was glad to know that her son was not a murderer. Haley had told everyone that she was having a baby, and she and Nathan couldn't be happier. They still hadn't decided on where they were going to college yet, Duke or Stanford.

Karen was pregnant, and after she had found out the truth about Keith's death, she'd become extremely depressed and refused to talk to anyone for almost a week. Then, one day, she came out of her room, said that she was going to let the past be in the past, and she is trying to move on with her life. But, to be honest, those things aren't anywhere near as big as the other happenings in Tree Hill. But lets start at the beginning.

About one and a half weeks after Dan's secret is revealed…

"Ok everyone, I'm going to assign you all a partner to work on your projects. The pairings are not negotiable. First, we have Lucas Scott with Skillz. Then, we have Haley Scott with Rachel Gatina. Nathan Scott with Bevin. Peyton Sawyer with Felix." He kept naming the pairs. "Ok everyone, the project is due Friday, in two days, so I suggest that you start work today." The bell rang and everyone walked out of the classroom. Peyton went to her locker and Felix came up behind her.

"So chika, your place or mine?" he asked her with a smirk. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"I don't want you in my house, so let's go to yours. I'll come by about 5 today, alright?"

"Sure thing baby, I'll see you then," he said, and walked towards his last class.Peyton groaned and took her book put of her locker. Rachel came up to her.

"So, when are you and Mr. Homophobe going to work?" she asked her. Peyton had filled Rachel in on Felix painting dyke on her locker, and Rachel despised the guy. Not to mention, he kept hitting on her.

"After school at his place. When are you and Haley meeting up?"

"After school at her place," she said, smiling. Peyton laughed a little.

"Well, you two will have fun, where as I'm stuck with him. Oh well, with luck we can get the damn thing over with tonight and I won't have to speak to him until Friday, and then I can ignore him the rest of my life."

"Good point. Do you want to hang out tonight?"

"I would, but I told Derek I'd hang out with him, we're going to watch a movie." Rachel had to stop herself from gagging. She couldn't stand Derek, and she hated being in the same room with him. Something about him was off. She forced a smile on her face.

"Sounds fun, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"K, bye hun," she said, and walked to her next class. Lucas, Nathan and Haley came up to Rachel, their last class was cancelled, so they were going to hang out.

"She still doesn't see that Derek is bad news, huh?" Lucas asked her.

"Nope. I can't put my finger on it, there's just something off about the guy."

"I agree, he's always staring at Peyton, like in a I wanna do you kind of way," Nathan said. He and Haley didn't trust him either.

"Yeah, and the other day, he took a picture of her ass." Lucas said. "And then, after the concert, he hugged her goodbye and sniffed her hair. And then, her jacket disappeared. And then, when I went to the hospital with my mom for her doctors appointment, I saw this girl there and she looked like Peyton. But, it turned out that it was this girl wearing a blonde curly hair wig, and Peyton's jacket! And she had been stabbed in the leg in exactly where Peyton had been shot."

"What?" Nathan exclaimed after Lucas stopped to take a breath. "Are you saying that…"

"A hooker was dressed in Peyton's clothes and had scars and hair exactly like Peyton."

"We should have an intervention or something, tell her the guys bad news." Haley suggested.

"I've told her all of this, and she doesn't see it. Have you told her, Rachel," he asked as they all got in Rachel's car to go to the mall, as Rachel and Haley wanted to do some shopping.

"No, I don't wanna upset her. And it's not like we have any solid proof. If we get some, it's intervention time," Rachel said. Everyone agreed and they drove to the mall.

Peyton and Felix were studying in his room. They had been working for a couple hours and they were almost finished.

"So, how's Anna doing?" Peyton asked him, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Why, do you miss your girlfriend?" he asked her with a sneer. Peyton took a deep breath to calm herself and then spoke.

"No, I just wanted to know how she's doing."

"She's just fine."

"Great." They continued working for a few minutes. "Done," Peyton said happily.

"Me too."

"Alright, I guess I'll be going then." Peyton said as she stood up. Felix stood up and grabbed her arm.

"What's the rush baby," he said, and leaned in to kiss her. Peyton pushed him away.

"What the hell Felix?" she said, and tried to get her arm out of his grip, but he was much stronger than her. "Let me go!" she exclaimed.

"No, let's have a little fun." he said.

"Get the hell off of me! What the hell do you think you're doing!" she screamed, hoping someone would hear her, but no one was home…

One week later…

Peyton was sitting at the kitchen table, stirring a cup of tea. She'd been in a bad mood ever since her encounter with Felix. She can't believe that he would do such a thing. She knew he was a bad guy, but this was a whole new level of bad. Her thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. She went over to answer it, and was extremely surprised at who she saw.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" she asked him, moving aside to let him in.

"I had the day off and figured that I'd come down to see you," he said, smiling at her.

"I'm glad, it's so good to see you," she said as they went into the kitchen. He sat down and she poured him a cup of tea. "How's Jenny?" she asked, sitting down herself.

"She's good, she's with Nicki for the week," he said, and Peyton frowned. "Nicki gets her a couple days a week, and I get her a couple days a week, and then her parents get her the rest of the time. This will go on for about a year until we can prove to a judge that we're responsible enough to take care of her."

"Oh, so you and Nicki are dating?" Jake laughed.

"God no, we're just learning to be civil. I would never start up with her again."

"Glad to hear it." The two talked for about an hour.

"So, Peyton, the reason that I came down here was, I wanted to tell you something." He paused, and she motioned for him to go on. "I know we live a ways apart, but, as soon as the judge comes to a decision, I think I'm going to move back here. And, I want us to try again. I still love you Peyton."

"Jake, I love you too," she started, and Jake leaned in to kiss her…

1 week later…

Peyton walked into her house, locking the door behind her. She couldn't believe that Lucas was right about Derek. She'd found out that Derek really was a psycho stalker. God, no wonder she had commitment issues. She walked up to her room, not bothering to turn her room lights on. She laid down on the bed, but something didn't feel right. She picked up one of the items on the bed, and realized that it was a picture, but she couldn't tell what is was of. She reached over and flipped on her lamp, and screamed. Her entire room was covered in pictures of her, and pictures were covering her bed spread too.

"Hello Peyton," came a voice from her closet. She looked over to see Derek holding a taser gun. She reached for her cell phone to call 911, but he ran over to her and grabbed it from her, threw it across the room, where it hit the wall and shattered. He gave her a sadistic grin. "No one's coming for you Peyton," he said. She screamed again as he activated the taser…

2 weeks later…

Peyton walked over to Rachel's house. The two of them had gotten into a huge fight, and they weren't talking, but she had to talk to her. She rang the doorbell. Rachel answered the door a few seconds later. She rolled her eyes and went to close the door, but Peyton stopped her.

"Please, Rachel, I have to talk to you." She told her. Rachel let her in, because she sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. They went into the house and up to her room. Peyton sat on the bed, feeling nauseous at the prospect of what she was about to reveal to Rachel. "Rachel, this is really hard for me to tell you, so I'm just going to say it." She stopped and took a few deep breaths.

"Peyton, I'm pissed at you, but you can tell me anything." Peyton took another deep breath and spoke her news.

"Rachel, I'm pregnant." Rachel's shocked expression turns to a murderous one, and she utters one word.

"Him."

**How's that for a turn of events? So, the next question is, who's the father? Felix, Jake or creepy stalker Derek. Next chapter will explain everything. The more people review, the quicker I'll update. Also, does anyone know how far along Karen and Haley are in their pregnancies in the show right now? Please review and tell me what you think. **


	14. Chapter 14 Questions Answered

**Chapter 14-Questions Answered**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! This chapter should explain what happened with Felix, Jake, and Derek and why Peyton and Rachel got in a fight. It starts out with what happened at Felix's house, and then goes from there.**

**Warning- This chapter deals with sensitive subject matter, but nothing graphic.**

"Get the hell off of me! What the hell do you think you're doing!" she screamed, hoping someone would hear her, but no one was home. He tried again to kiss her as he backed her towards his bed, but this time, Peyton was successful in getting her arm out of his reach. She grabbed her bag and moved away from him.

"What the fuck is your problem!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, just a little harmless fun," he said with his irritating smirk. "It's not like you're seeing anyone, and if my sister's good enough for you, why aren't I?" She glared at him incredulously.

"What kind of person are you?" she asked him, irritation laced through her voice. "Honestly, I bet you're the one who opened the time capsule," she said sarcastically. But the satisfied smirk on his face told her all she needed to know. "_You_ opened the time capsule?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"So what? Felix, two people _died _because you opened the time capsule."

"You're wrong," he said, the smirk still not leaving his face.

"No I'm not," she protested.

"Yes, you are. You see, if I hadn't opened the time capsule, odds are, Keith would still be dead, considering that it wasn't Jimmy who killed Keith. Or did you forget that his psycho brother did him in?"

Peyton glared at him. "Go to hell," she said, before leaving the house.

**1 week later**

"I still love you, Peyton," Jake said to her.

"I love you too," she started, and Jake leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away. "But there's someone else, who I'm completely in love with." Jake looked surprised and sat back. "Jake, I do love you, but as a friend." He nodded sadly.

"Lucas?" he questioned.

"Oh, no, Lucas and Brooke are dating."

"So, who's the guy you're completely in love with?"

"Her name is Rachel, you've never met her." Jake looked stunned. He sighed and smiled at her.

"That's hot, and, I'm glad you're happy, Peyton, you deserve it."

"Thanks Jake." He smiled at her and stood up and began to walk towards the front door. Peyton followed.

"I'm glad you came, Jake, it was nice to see you. And I know, someday, you'll find the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with." He smiled and they hugged, and Jake left the house. Peyton closed the door and sighed, and then a few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. She turned around and opened it to see Derek.

"Hey, Derek, what are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop in and see how my sister's doing."

"I'm doing alright. Do you want to stay, maybe watch a movie?" she asked him.

"Sure, I'd like that," he said, and they walked into the family room and picked out a movie.

**1 week later.**

"Bye Derek," she said, trying to keep her fear out of her voice. She had just found the picture of her and Ellie when she was a baby in Derek's motel room, and, after further investigation, found a lot of other things that proved that Lucas was right about Derek the entire time. She got into her car and drove to Rachel's. She was going to explain about Derek to her.

About two hours later, Peyton pulled her car back up to her own house, after explaining everything to Rachel. She was talking to Lucas on the phone.

"Yeah, I'm a little freaked out, but I'll keep the door locked and everything."

"_Well, we'll be home in about two hours, so we'll come by and check on you to make sure you're ok, alright?"_

"Ok, thanks Luke. Bye," she said, and hung up her phone and got out of the car. Lucas and Brooke and Nathan and Haley had taken a trip down to UNC, as Haley suddenly had an interest in that particular school. Apparently, she and Nathan had both applied there after finding out that Lucas had applied, but they didn't tell anybody until a couple of days ago. Rachel and Peyton had been invited on the road trip, but neither were really in the mood to go. They'd both applied to UNC, but they were still waiting to hear back from their schools like everyone else, and they'd already toured the campus anyway.

Peyton walked into her house, locking the door behind her. She walked up to her room, not bothering to turn her room lights on. She laid down on the bed, but something didn't feel right. She picked up one of the items on the bed, and realized that it was a picture, but she couldn't tell what is was of. She reached over and flipped on her lamp, and screamed. Her entire room was covered in pictures of her, and pictures were covering her bed spread too.

"Hello Peyton," came a voice from her closet. She looked over to see Derek holding a taser gun. She reached for her cell phone to call 911, but he ran over to her and grabbed it from her, threw it across the room, where it hit the wall and shattered. He gave her a sadistic grin. "No one's coming for you Peyton," he said. She screamed again as he activated the taser. He grabbed her by the neck, and she struggled against him, but he had the advantage as she was laying down.

He hit her with the first jolt of energy from the taser. She cried out in pain. She tried to struggle against him, but he was much stronger. He hit her with a second jolt, and she was powerless to do anything but lie there. She felt him unbutton her top. With one last surge of energy, she tried to throw him off of her, but he hit her head, hard. She fell back onto the bed and felt herself begin to black out. She felt him put his hands on her breasts, and she blacked out seconds later.

**4 hours later**

"Hey, Peyton, are you here?" Lucas called. They knew something was wrong, the front door had been unlocked when they got there. There had been an accident on the road and it had delayed them two hours, and they had started to get worried about Peyton when she hadn't answered her phone. They walked upstairs and opened the door to her bedroom, and Brooke screamed. Peyton was lying on the bed in just her bra. She did, however, have her skirt on. She had a bruise on her head and marks on her body where she looked like she'd been burned, but they knew that she had to have been tasered. She also had scratches on her breasts. Lucas and Nathan went over to her and attempted to revive her as the girls cried.

"She needs a hospital, Luke." Lucas said grimly. "Damn it, if we'd only gotten here sooner." Nathan said as his brother nodded somberly and the two guys gently picked her up and walked her down to their car with Brooke and Haley behind them. They got in the car and drove her to the hospital. When they got there, the doctors took her right away to treat her, and left the four of them in the waiting room.

"Someone should call Rachel, she'd want to be here," Haley said after over half an hour of silence.

"Oh, God, Rachel of course," Brooke said, and picked up her cell phone and walked into a room where phones were allowed to call her. She checked her watch as she dialed. It was 2 am.

"_Hello," said Rachel groggily._

"Hey Rachel, it's Brooke. Listen, I'm sorry to call so late but, it's about Peyton."

"_What, what happened? Is she ok?" she said in a panicked voice._

"No, not really, she was attacked, by Derek, we think. We're at the hospital…"

"_I'll be there in fifteen minutes," she said and hung up._

Brooke hung up and walked into the waiting room with everyone else.

"She said she'd be here in fifteen minutes." Brooke told the group. Nathan frowned.

"There's no way she can get here in fifteen minutes. Her house is at least twenty five from here, plus, she'll have to get dressed and stuff."

Fifteen minutes later, Rachel walked into the waiting room, crying a little. Brooke and Haley walked over and hugged her.

"Do we know anything yet?"

"No, Larry's on his way, but they won't tell us anything because we're not family." Rachel nodded and sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" Nathan asked her.

"I drove."

"At the speed limit?"

"Yes." He looked disbelieving. "Ok, fine, I sped a little. Or a lot. Does it really matter?"

"Nope, just curious." The gang sat in silence for about an hour, and then Larry walked in, in a complete panic.

"Where is she, is she ok? What happened? Brooke tried to tell me but the reception was bad and I was just about to board the boat but when I heard…"

"Mr. Sawyer!" Brooke exclaimed. He stopped and looked at her. "We don't know much yet, but they think she's going to be fine. But they won't tell us anything else because we're not family."

He took a deep breath and started to calm down. Lucas and Nathan explained what had happened that they knew about, and then Larry sat down and they all continued to wait in silence. About a half hour later, the doctor came out.

"She's going to be fine. She's going to have a couple of scars from the taser, but those should fade, and there's some creams you can use that should get rid of them all together. She has a bad bruise on her head, but it doesn't look like she has a concussion. We gave her emergency contraception, but you should make sure she goes to the gynecologist in about two weeks, because it doesn't completely prevent pregnancy. Also…"

"Wait, are you telling me that my baby girl was raped?" Larry asked, fear and anger laced throughout his voice.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. So, you should probably have her see a therapist also. She's awake now, if you'd like to see her. One visitor at a time." he said, and walked away. Larry stood up and followed him to Peyton's room. About fifteen minutes later, he walked back out, crying slightly.

"Rachel, she wants to see you," he said. Rachel nodded and stood up and walked into her room.

"Hey Blondie," she said with a small smile. "We've got to stop meeting like this." Peyton laughed a little. Rachel walked over to her and kissed her softly before sitting down in the chair beside the bed. "How do you feel, baby?"

"I'm ok, I hurt a little bit, but most of it is emotional. But everything started to hurt less when you walked in." Rachel began to cry a little.

"I'm so sorry, I should have known that something was wrong when you didn't pick up your cell. I just figured you were sleeping, but I should have come over to check on you."

"It's not your fault. If you had come over, Derek would have hurt you, and then all this would be much worse."

"He raped you," Rachel said, her voice breaking. Peyton reached up and gently wiped Rachel's tears off her face before cupping her cheek.

"It'll be ok," she said to her. "Everything will be ok."

**1 week and 5 days later…**

Rachel came over to Peyton's house and knocked on the door. She heard footsteps on the other side, but no one opened the door.

"Pey, it's me, Rachel," she said, knowing that Peyton refused to open the door without knowing who it was. The door opened and Peyton let her in before closing it and locking about six locks. The police still had not caught Derek, though Peyton's real brother had turned up in town. Peyton was still extremely wary of him, so he had agreed to a DNA test to show that they were related. Peyton led her up to her room, closed the door, and locked it too.

'Where's your dad?" Rachel asked her.

"Out doing some shopping," she said. "He's not going back out to sea for about a month."

"That's good, you'll have someone in the house with you," Rachel said. She still worried about Peyton constantly. Rachel kissed Peyton gently on the lips. Peyton wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling Rachel closer and deepening the kiss. Rachel tangled her hand in Peyton's hair. The two backed gently towards the bed and fell back onto it. They continued to kiss deeply, shedding clothes as they did, and for the first time, they weren't interrupted.

**The next day at school…**

Rachel walked up to her locker, glowing slightly, thinking about yesterday with Peyton. Her mood quickly changed as soon as she saw her locker. In bright red paint, the word DYKE was written on it. She gasped when she saw it. She looked over to Peyton's locker and saw the same thing. A video came on the tv screens.

"You think you know two of your favorite cheerleaders, Peyton Sawyer and Rachel Gatina?" The voice asked. It was distorted, like a bad horror movie announcer. "But look what they're up to behind closed doors." The screen turned to Peyton's room, and it showed the two of them were kissing, intensely. A voice over came on as the two backed towards the bed. "Check your web cam next time girls," said the voice.

Whitey ran over to the media closet, opened the door, and killed the feed. The guys in the hallway groaned in disappointment. Rachel looked mortified. People started pointing and staring, and she turned around and walked out of the school. Peyton saw this and followed.

"Rachel," she called after her as Rachel ran over to her car. Rachel turned around, looking furious.

"Your web cam Peyton? You forgot to turn off your fucking web cam! I would've thought you'd thrown that thing out after what happened with Derek. Jesus."

"Rachel, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about it." Rachel scoffed.

"I have to go, next time you see me, don't bother talking to me," she said, and got into her car and drove away. Brooke walked up beside Peyton.

"Come on Buddy, let's get you out of here, ok?" Peyton nodded and allowed Brooke to take her to her car. Peyton had ridden with Rachel. The girls drove back to Peyton's house, and she and Brooke talked all day. Peyton kept trying to call Rachel, but she wouldn't answer her phone.

**The next day, the Gynecologists Office…**

Peyton was sitting on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to come back with her blood tests. Peyton had told her that she was late, and didn't feel quite right. The doctor came in a couple seconds later with Larry, looking grim. Larry looked confused.

"Well, Ms. Sawyer, you're pregnant."

"What?" Larry and Peyton both exclaimed together.

"Yes, there's really no doubt about it. You're only about two weeks along, but you're definitely pregnant." She handed her some pamphlets. "There are several options for you…" she said, and began explaining them, but Peyton wasn't listening. About a half a hour later, Peyton and Larry arrived home after spending the entire car ride in complete silence. Peyton told her dad that she was going to go and tell Rachel. She drove over there and, after a few minutes of stalling, told Rachel her news. Rachel went from stunned to furious in about two seconds flat.

"Derek?" she questioned, fury etched in her voice.

"Of course, I haven't slept with any other guys. How could you even think…"

"No, that's not what I meant, I'm just making sure that I can add this to the list of things that I'll present to the judge to constitute justifiable homicide."

"Rachel, I'm really sorry, about everything. The web cam, the pregnancy…"

"Oh babe," she said, sitting down beside her on the bed. "Neither of these things are your fault. I overreacted about the web cam, but you being pregnant is not your fault, ok?" Peyton began to cry for the first time since Derek had raped her. Rachel held her, and she cried for almost ten minutes. She finally stopped and Rachel wiped her tears off her face, then wiped her own tears away, not realizing until then that she had been crying too.

"What am I supposed to do?" Peyton said.

"We'll figure it out. But whatever you decide to do, I'm here for you, ok? I love you, Peyton, and I'm not going to let you do this alone." Peyton looked up at her, surprised. "What," Rachel asked her.

"It's just, that's the first time that you told me you loved me."

"I was actually planning on telling you in a more romantic way, but I do love you so, so much. And I totally get it if you don't feel the same way, but…"

"I love you too, Rachel. I really do, more than anything." The two girls kissed, and for a moment, all their problems melted away.

**Ok, there it is, I hope you all like it. Thanks again for all the reviews, please keep them coming, I really am more inspired to write. Next chapter up in a couple days, maybe sooner if people review. Thanks again!**


	15. Chapter 15 Decisions Made

**Chapter 15- Decisions Made**

**Thank you for all the reviews, I really do appreciate it.**

**A/N- This chapter takes place a week after the last chapter ended. Also, when this chapter takes place, Haley is only a month and a half along. I know she would be farther along in the show, but she needs to be closer to Peyton in terms of how far along they are for the story to work.**

Peyton and Rachel were driving back to Peyton's house. The two and Larry had just gone to a doctor's appointment for Peyton to discuss her options. Peyton had been pretty quiet throughout the entire visit, and said that she would make her decision within the next two weeks.

"Rachel," Peyton said. Rachel glanced over at her. "Would it be totally crazy if I said that I wanted to keep it." Rachel looked surprised. She pulled the car over so that they could talk face to face.

"Kind of, but I'm sure you have your reasons."

"I do. I mean, I know that getting an abortion is what almost every other woman would do if she were in my situation, and that was my original thought. But after thinking about it, I know that I couldn't do it. I want to have this baby, and I want to raise it. I know it sounds insane, keeping my crazy stalkers kid, but, even more than that, it would be a piece of Ellie in a way. I'd have some connection to my mom's. And, I couldn't put it up for adoption, because, look at Ellie. She spent her whole life wondering. I want to have this baby, because, I think it's what my mom's would've wanted me to do. And it's what I wanna do. I'm just worried that I won't make a good mom."

"Oh honey, you'll make a fabulous mother. And I think you're making the right choice. And I'm going to be there for you, I promise, I'll stand by you." Peyton reached over and kissed Rachel gently, and then Rachel started the car again, and they drove to Peyton's house.

When they arrived, they found that Larry was already home. The three sat down at the kitchen table.

"Daddy, I've made my decision."

"Ok, and just so you know, I'll support you, no matter what you decide to do."

"Ok, I've decided that I'm going to have the baby, and then raise him or her." Larry looked surprised, but then got up and walked over to Peyton and hugged her.

"Your moms would be so proud of you," he said with tears in his eyes. "I'm so proud of you, for the woman you've become. And I'm also proud to call you my daughter." They pulled apart, both of them crying a little. Larry wiped his eyes and then hugged Rachel. "And thank you, for being there for my little girl."

"Always," Rachel said with a smile.

"Ok, well, I've got some errands to run. Peyton, Brooke and Haley are coming over today, right?"

"Right."

"Ok, well, I'll see you girls later." He said, and left the house

"They're going to be here in ten minutes." Peyton told Rachel a few minutes later.

"Ok, do you want me to stay?"

"I think I'd better do this one solo. I'll call you tonight though, how's that sound?"

"Sounds good," she said as she stood up and walked to the front door with Peyton behind her. "See you tomorrow, doll."

"Bye hun," she said, kissing her gently. Rachel walked out of the house, and Peyton closed the door behind her. About ten minutes later, Brooke and Haley walked into the house and walked upstairs, looking for Peyton. She was sitting in her room, drawing.

"Hey Buddy, what's up? You said that you had to tell us something important…"

"Yeah, actually, I do." She took in Brooke's appearance. She looked exhausted and pale. "Are you ok?"

"Well, actually, no, but we'll get to that in a minute. First, tell me your news, I'm kind of betting that it can't top mine."

"Well, the thing is, I'm kind of pregnant. With my crazy psycho pretended to be my brother stalker's, kid. Also, I've decided that I'm keeping the baby and I'm going to raise him or her. Top that." Haley looked stunned, but it didn't seem to much faze Brooke.

"Well, it won't so much top it as match it. I'm pregnant too."

"What?" Haley and Peyton said, shocked.

"Yeah, I'm about three weeks along."

"I'm about six weeks along," Haley said.

"Yeah, I'm about three weeks along too. Have you told Lucas?"

"Yeah, he said he'd support me no matter what I decide to do."

"Have you decided?"

"No, not yet." The three girls sat in silence for a minute before Peyton started to laugh a little.

"What?"

"It's just, if you decide to keep it, you, me, Haley and Karen will all be pregnant at the same time. The three amigos, pregnant together."

"Oh my God, you're right." The three girls began to laugh at the thought that they were all pregnant. Three best friends, pregnant at the same time. They chatted for a few minutes, and then Brooke stood up to leave.

"I told Lucas I'd meet him so we could talk about everything." She grabbed her purse, but then stopped.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, it's just, our town is…different from other towns."

"You can say that again," she said with a smile. The girls parted with a hug, and then Brooke left. Haley and Peyton chatted for a while, and then Haley left to go meet Nathan. Peyton called Rachel to come over, and she got there a little while later.

"You will never believe my news," Peyton said with a smile as Rachel walked inside. The two girls went into the family room, and Peyton put a movie in before sitting down on the couch with Rachel.

"What's your news?"

"Ok, you can't tell anyone, because she doesn't know what she's going to do yet, but, drum roll please… Brooke's pregnant too."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep." Rachel began to laugh. "What?"

"It's just, the three amigos are pregnant together." Peyton frowned. "What?"

"That's my line," she said, and both girls began to laugh. They settled into each others arms and watched The Notebook, and for a little while, things were perfect.

**There it is, hope you all like it. The next chapter should be up in a few days. Thanks again for all the reviews, I really do appreciate it. Please keep reviewing, it inspires me to write. Thanks again. Also, sorry it's short, the next one will be longer.**


	16. Chapter 16 3 Pregnant Women So Much Food

**Chapter 16- 3 Pregnant Women, So Much Food. **

**Sorry for the delay, real life got in the way. Also, I'm not going to use the Daunte story line, since there's already so much drama.**

It had been a week since all the girls had discovered that they were pregnant together, with Peyton and Brooke only a month along, and Haley 1 month and 3 weeks along. Brooke and Lucas had talked it over, and they'd decided to keep the baby. When Karen had first been told the news, first she cried for a few minutes, and then started laughing. Lucas and Nathan chalked it up to pregnancy hormones, which the other three girls were starting to experience too. Peyton's dad had been called out on detail earlier than he thought, and Peyton and Brooke refused point blank to stay in the house alone. So, they moved into Rachel's house. Nathan and Haley were having serious money problems, and they were about to get kicked out of their apartment, so, Rachel invited them to stay with her until Cooper moved out of Debs. He'd decided to stay in Tree Hill permanently since he and Karen had started dating. So, it was Nathan and Rachel against three pregnant girls. Oh, what fun they'll have.

"Nathan," Haley said as the five were sitting in the family room, watching tv.

"Yes," he asked her tentatively.

"Would you run out and get me some Chinese food?"

"Why don't we just order it?"

"Because, it's shorter if you order it ahead of time and then go and pick it up. Also, I want some Cookie Dough Ice Cream."

"That it?" he asked, pretty sure that the list that was about to be read was going to be a long one.

"No, I also want some green peppers, Cheetos, barbeque chips, some of that really yummy flavored sparkling water, some grapefruit juice and two bagels, a plain and an everything. And make sure to get some cream cheese. And I want the bagels from that bagel place, not from the grocery store."

"Ok, got it," he said as he finished writing everything down and began to walk towards the front door.

"Hey, Nate, since you're going out, would you mind picking up some stuff for me?" Peyton asked. Nathan groaned internally, but smiled and said sure.

"Ok, I want some KFC, maybe 4 wings and some mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese, and extra biscuits. Plus, can I have some chocolate chip ice cream, and some fritos, and, ooh, I want to make a smoothie, with… pineapple, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, vanilla yogurt, and cranberry juice." Nathan wrote down her order as he tried to resist gagging. He nodded at them and walked towards the door, but was stopped when Brooke's voice came next.

"Natey," she said in a hopeful voice. He walked back over to her.

"You may now place your order," he said, smiling. Brooke smiled happily.

"Ok, I want a cheeseburger from Burger King, and fries and chicken nuggets from McDonalds."

"Wait, why can't I get you the nuggets and fries at BK, they have those there."

"McDonalds are better. Also, I want a smoothie like Peyton's, only instead of vanilla yogurt, lets go with lemon yogurt and peach yogurt, and apple juice. Also, some green apples, an orange, and some twinkies."

"Is that all?"

"Would you mind renting a couple of movies too?" Haley asked. "And buying us some magazines?"

"Sure. Ok, I'm going to go and pick up all of this, and you guys" he said as he quickly made his way to the door before Rachel realized that she was trapped. "Have fun with Rachel."

"Wait," she said, but the door slammed, and Nathan was gone. Nathan walked to his car and called Lucas, who agreed to come along on the worlds longest food run.

Inside…

"Rachel, sweetie?" Peyton said hopefully.

"What can I do for you?" Rachel asked, laughing a little.

"Can you get me some water, and some pretzels. And then, would you put in an episode of Gilmore Girls?"

"Sure, which one? Actually, on second thought, I'll get the food, and you guys debate over it. Anyone else want anything?"

"Just water, with a lemon slice in it." Haley said. "Oh, and an apple."

"Raspberry water and a banana." Brooke said with a sweet smile.

"Coming right up," Rachel said, and walked into the kitchen. When she came back, the girls had decided on the start of the fourth season of Gilmore Girls. She put the disc in and the girls sat down and watched tv while they ate their food. Rachel realized that she too was hungry, so she left the room for a minute to call Nathan.

"Hey Nate, it's me. Listen, while you're out, I was wondering if you would pick up some dinner for me? KFC is fine, since you already have to go there."

"Are you kidding me, we just got done with the fast food, we're on our way to the grocery store. Pick something from there, you're not pregnant."

"No, but you did leave me all alone with three pregnant girls who," she glanced into the family room to see what was going on. "Are currently arguing over which boy Rory should end up with, Logan, Jess or Dean, despite the fact that none of those boys appear in this episode, and one doesn't even come in this season."

"Alright, we'll get you some KFC."

"Thanks. Wait, we?"

"Yeah, Lucas is here with me. Maybe it won't be so bad three on three." Rachel laughed.

"Ok, well, tell him I say hey, and thanks again," she said, and hung up her cell phone. She walked back into the living room and sat down, trying to watch the show, but it was a little hard to do since the girls kept saying what they wished had happened.

About an hour later, Lucas and Nathan walked into the family room, weighted down with grocery bags.

"Oh, food, thank God," Haley said happily. The guys handed them their respective fast food bags, and then put the stuff from the grocery store on the table. The girls all opened their bags and grimaced, looked in the other two's bags, and traded everything around so that it was completely different from their original orders. Rachel, Nathan and Lucas just rolled their eyes.

**There it is, I hope you all like it. It's just a little filler and a break from all the drama. Thanks for all the reviews, and please R&R, it inspires me to write. Thanks again.**


	17. Chapter 17 2 AM Food Runs

**Chapter 17- 2 AM Food Runs and Creepy Phone Calls**

**Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation and didn't have internet access much. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you like this chapter, though it is kind of a filler, just to get the story moving.**

**2 weeks later**

Peyton was lying in bed with Rachel, who was sleeping soundly, but Peyton was wide awake. Something in the hallway creaked, and she sat up straight.

"Rachel," she said, shaking her softly. Rachel opened her eyes, glanced at the clock, rolled her eyes and sat up.

"Peyton, we have been through this before. This is an old house, it creaks occasionally. There is no one in the hallway. We had all the locks changed just in case, and added a couple of bolts to every door. Nate and I walk through the entire house every night to make sure that every window and door are securely locked. We have an alarm system. I know you're scared, but you're safe here. I'll protect you and so will Nathan. Ok? Now, go to sleep, you staying up half the night every night is not good for the baby, or you for that matter." She finished, clearly exhausted.

"I'm sorry, I'm just scared, but I know that I'm safe with you."

"Mk, sleeping now," Rachel said, speaking into her pillow. Peyton smiled and bit her lip. She laid down and tried to go to sleep, but a few minutes later, she shook Rachel awake again.

"Are we seriously going to have this conversation again?" Rachel fumed, starting to get annoyed. Peyton woke her up almost every night, the time varying from 1 to 4ish, convinced that someone was in the house. It was really starting to irritate Rachel. Peyton looked amused.

"Actually, I was just wondering if you would get me some lasagna."

"It's two thirty in the morning, where the hell am I supposed to find lasagna?"

"Grocery store. You can buy it frozen and then heat it up, it doesn't take too long. Please Rach, I'm starving, I didn't eat dinner." Rachel smiled at her and kissed her on the lips.

"Anything for you. You want anything else?" she asked her as she looked around the room for her jacket and purse. Peyton handed her a list and Rachel groaned internally, it would take her awhile. She smiled, kissed her again, and said she'd be back soon. She walked downstairs towards the kitchen so that she could see if they had any of this stuff to find Nathan already surveying the contents of the fridge. He heard her enter the room and looked over at her and closed the fridge.

"Anything on your list in there?" Rachel asked him with an amused smirk. This had become an almost nightly ritual, they were sent on food runs quite a lot.

"A couple things, including onions and steak sauce." They both grimaced at this and Rachel opened the fridge. She found a couple of things on her list and crossed them off before closing it again.

"Alright, you wanna head out together?" Rachel asked him.

"Sure why not. She wants me to get her a steak. Where the hell am I supposed to get a steak at this hour?"

"Umm, I have no idea. I'm supposed to be getting lasagna. Thank God Brooke is at Lucas's tonight, she'd probably want lobster or something," she said as they got into her car. They drove to the grocery store, bitching about Peyton and Haley, but when they reached the grocery store, they realized that they weren't the pregnant ones, and they should be nice to them.

"I mean, after all, they can't control their hormones. And it is your fault that Haley's knocked up so…" Rachel said to Nathan, smirking.

"Yeah, that's true. At least we can take comfort in the fact that, in a few months, our lives will be made easier when these women give birth." Nathan said in a philosophical voice. Rachel laughed. "Of course, then we'll have three screaming babies to contend with so I guess our lives just got messy again."

"Let's just get through these pregnancies first before we worry about the ending result." she said, and the two walked into the store.

After about an half an hour, they managed to collect everything on their lists. Rachel had gotten into an argument with the butcher, because he said that he would sell her a steak, but he wouldn't cook it for her. She yelled for a few minutes before giving the guy money, and he agreed to cook her the steak. She also paid for Nathan's lasagna to be heated there too, so they could give the food to the girls when the got home and go to bed.

They drove home and went into the silent house. Their rooms were on either side of Brooke's room. They wished each other good luck before going into their respective bedrooms to find them both fast asleep. Rachel walked out of the room where she ran into Nathan. The two walked into the kitchen and put all the food away. They then went into the family room. Rachel handed Nathan a blanket and pillow from a cedar chest, grabbed a blanket and pillow for herself, and then collapsed onto the couch, exhausted. Nathan laid down on the floor, and the two fell asleep instantly.

The next day, Rachel rolled over quickly, not remembering that she was on the couch. This resulted in her falling off the couch and onto Nathan. Of course, Peyton and Haley chose this moment to walk in.

"Umm, what the hell is this?" Haley asked, confused.

"Not what it looks like," Nathan said from underneath Rachel. Rachel rolled off of him.

"We crashed down here after we got back from the food run, I slept on the couch, he slept on the floor." The girls accepted that answer and went into the kitchen followed by Rachel and Nathan.

"Why didn't you guys sleep in your rooms?" Peyton asked.

"Because, we didn't want to risk you guys waking up and asking us to go on another food run," Nathan said simply. "By the way, your food's in the fridge." Haley glared at him.

"What Nathan means," Rachel started, glaring at Nathan, "is that since you two haven't been sleeping very well lately, we figured that it was probably best not to wake you."

Nathan rolled his eyes at her, and Peyton and Haley just laughed. They knew that their joint pregnancy was putting a strain on their lovers, but they were both eating for two, and Rachel and Nathan had assured them many times that they didn't mind. They finally decided on chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and Nathan cooked for them while the girls chatted. A few minutes later, the phone rang.

"Hello," Peyton said when she answered it. "Hello?….. Hello, is anyone there?" The other line went dead. "Guess not," Peyton said and hung up. She shook off the strange feeling she'd gotten, and went back to her breakfast.

**There it is, hope you all like it. I know that it was similar to the last chapter, but I just needed a filler so I could get the story moving forward again. Please review, I really want to hear peoples opinions. **


	18. Chapter 18 Pregnancy Pain

**Sorry about the delay, real life stuff. There is no Daunte in the story, because I think that there is already enough drama. Also, Derek is in Iraq, but he will make an appearance at some point. Also, this chapter is one week after the last chapter. Oh, and in terms of how far along they are, I decided to move Peyton and Brooke up one week, to keep it a little simpler. Also, some of the symptoms they're experiencing may be common later in pregnancy, I don't really know, and I'm getting a few different answers on the internet, so I wouldn't use this as a what to expect guide, lol.**

**Karen- 3 months, ****Haley- 2 ½ months, ****Peyton and Brooke- 2 months.**

**Chapter 18- Pregnancy Pain**

"Yes! Go Nathan!" The girls all screamed together as Nathan made a fantastic basket. It was the last game before finals, so they had to win. They were up by 11, with two minutes left, so it was looking good. Nathan, Lucas and Skillz had made a fantastic team that night. Lucas was sitting out now, he'd played all he could. The girls were cheering, something that was getting rather awkward for Peyton, Haley and Brooke. The final seconds of the game ticked away.

"Ravens win it! We're going to the state championship folks!" Mouth yelled happily into the microphone before joining the already huge crowd on the court to congratulate the team.

"Hey, party at my place!" yelled one of the team members, and all the guys began cheering. Nathan and Lucas made their way over to the girls.

"You guys aren't going to the party?" Haley asked them. They shook their heads.

"We decided that we'll wait for the massive party after we win the state championships. Besides, I'm starving, is your mom's open Luke? I didn't see her here tonight." Nathan asked.

"I think so. She said she wasn't feeling too well, so she was just going to work at the diner instead of come to the game. I told her to rest, but she didn't listen," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. The six walked outside and got into Rachel's SUV. They were about half an hour from Tree Hill.

"So, ladies, how are we all feeling?" Nathan asked as Rachel pulled out of the parking lot.

"Oh, I had the worst morning sickness today, and then I couldn't eat anything even though I was starving, because everything just looked disgusting." Haley responded.

"Yeah, I had awful morning sickness too, and I always have to pee, and my breasts are really starting to bother me." Brooke chimed in.

"I've had all that too, not to mention I'm all sore and achy all the time. And I'm starting to gain some weight." Peyton said, sighing.

"Me too, I've gained 6 pounds already," Brooke said, and Peyton nodded in unison.

"Eight for me," Haley said sadly. "Does anyone else get nosebleeds?"

"I got a couple yesterday, and I couldn't explain them. Can you get nosebleeds when you're pregnant?" Peyton asked.

"Some people do. You can run a humidifier at night though, it's supposed to help."

"Ok, I will, thanks. Man, I'm exhausted, and starving. I hope I can eat something without wanting to gag," Peyton said, and the girls nodded. Nathan and Lucas, who were sitting in the way back, looked very alarmed.

"It's like when you ask them what wrong, and it turns out they're on their period, and they go into horrific detail about it," Nathan said, and Lucas nodded his agreement. Haley glared at Nathan.

"Would you like to carry the baby?" she asked Nathan in a deadly tone. He shook his head, having learned that her mood swings weren't pretty.

"So, Rachel, how are you doing?" Lucas asked, trying to get the conversation in a different direction.

"Oh, not well, these cramps are killer, and I'm down to my last tampon," she said, trying to hide her laughter.

"Oh, God, too much information!" Lucas said, not aware that she was kidding. The four girls burst out laughing.

"I'm joking, I'm doing fine." Rachel said, smirking at them.

"Ok, how about, from now on, when we ask how you all are, you respond with something that doesn't scare the hell out of us. For instance, if you're feeling like you are, you could respond: I haven't been having a good day, but it's just pregnancy stuff. It's better now that you're here though. See, nice and un-graphic." Nathan suggested.

"Have you been watching The L Word, or something?" Peyton asked him.

"Yeah, there was a marathon on last night," Nathan responded.

"We're here," Rachel announced as they pulled up beside Karen's café. They got out of the car and went inside. "Where is everyone?" Rachel asked.

"No idea," Lucas said. "Nathan and I'll go check the back," he said. The two walked into the back, but seconds later, shouts were heard.

"Oh my God, my eyes, I'm scarred for life!" Lucas exclaimed as he ran out of the back with his hand over his face, Nathan right behind him, also shielding his face.

"What?" Brooke asked in concern. Karen came out from the back, blushing crimson.

"Lucas, we were just kissing," Karen said, trying to reason with her son as Cooper followed her out, a similar color on his face. Nathan and Lucas continued to look a little creeped out.

"Kissing is one thing, full on making out is another," Nathan said.

"Oh, for God's sake, you knew we were dating," Karen said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, dating, not getting it on in the back of the café." Lucas said pointedly. Peyton and Rachel blushed at this and avoided everyone's eyes.

"Would you kids like something to eat?" Karen asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.

"Yes please," Haley said politely. The kids sat at a table. Karen came over to them, and took their orders. "Karen, you've been on your feet all day, you look exhausted. Why don't you let the guys take care of the food orders, and you just take a break. They won't mind, right boys," Haley asked, looking to Lucas, Nathan and Cooper, who were already seated.

"Nope, we don't mind at all," Lucas said, and the guys went back to fix the order.

"Should I help them?" Rachel asked.

"Nah, they've got it," Brooke said. "Besides, do you really want to be back there with all the men, bitching about all of us."

"Good point." The five women chatted about random things for a few minutes until the guys came back, balancing a ton of plates. They set them on the table in no particular order, knowing that they never ate what they'd actually ordered.

"So, girls, how are you all feeling? I know how hard your first pregnancy is, and the seconds not much easier. But I know some tips to make certain things a little easier, like morning sickness, achyness, stuff like that."

"Oh, that would be fabulous," Brooke said, and the three began to explain their current problems, much to the men and Rachel's despair.

**I know it's kind of short, but I realized that I hadn't updated in a while. Please R&R, next chapter up as soon as possible.**


	19. Update Notice!

Ok, I know, I suck for not updating. I've been busy, and life has been super crazy, plus I've had major writer's book. I'm going on a trip for most of June, and I'm going to try to update before then, but if not, there will be an update up soon after I get back. Thanks to all the people who have favorited and reviewed, and I hope you all will want to read when I update again. Thanks again.


	20. Chapter 19 Baby Names and Breaking Water

**Chapter 19-Baby Names and Broken Water**

**I know it's been over a year, I've just had a lot going on in my life and haven't felt like writing. I'm getting back into it now. I'm really sorry for the delay and I hope people are still interested. Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for the jump in time in the story, but I didn't want to get repetitive.**

**Haley is 9 months pregnant, Karen has already had her baby, Brooke and Peyton are both about 4 weeks away. This one is short, just to get the ball rolling again.**

**I lay no claim on One Tree Hill, or its characters, or Pottery Barn. No profits made, so please don't sue.**

**6 months later**

Haley, Peyton and Brooke were all sitting in the middle of a room, while Nathan, Lucas and Rachel were painting it. They were in one of the spare bedrooms in Rachel's house, and it was being painted for Peyton's baby, who, as they'd been told a couple of months ago, was going to be a girl. The three extremely pregnant women were discussing baby names, and occasionally shouting orders to the three painters, who were starting to get rather annoyed.

"Nathan, that isn't the right pink for that stripe," Peyton reminded him. She had picked a ridiculously complicated pattern for the room, which consisted of a solid lighter pink on the top half of the walls, and a striped pattern of 4 pinks and one green on the bottom half. It was almost done, and it was going to be perfect. Nathan looked like he wanted to throw the paint brush at her, but took a deep breath and simply nodded. "So, as I was saying, I really like the names Cassandra, Marissa, Isabel, and Shane, but I also really like the idea of naming her after my moms. I'll decide for sure after she's born, but what do you guys think?"

"I like the idea of naming her after her moms, but if that doesn't fit her, I like Isabel the best," said Haley.

"I agree," Brooke said, her attention focused on the bag of candy she was currently rooting through.

"Ok, my turn," said Haley. "So, I like James, Adam, Collin, and Kevin. You?"

"James," the six in the room say in unison.

"James," Haley echoes. "James Lucas Scott. Perfect. I love it." She gets a dreamy expression on her face, and doesn't speak for several moments before snapping out of it. "Brooke, what are your choices.?"

"Well," Brooke said, who was the only one who didn't know what she was having, "if it's a boy, I like Mark, Christopher, Matthew and Daniel, and if it's a girl, I like Jessica, Alexandra, Nicole, Ava, Isabella, but, obviously not if Peyton chooses Isabel, Sophie, Laura, Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, Amy, Susan, Carol…"

"Any one of the friends characters then?" says Rachel, amused, but Brooke doesn't pause.

"Madeline, Grace, Samantha, Brooke…"

"Brooke," Nathan interjects. "That's your name."

"Men name their kids after themselves all the time. Why can't I? And I also like…"

"We get the picture sweetie," says Lucas, rolling his eyes.

"For your sake, I hope she has a boy," says Nathan in an undertone. "It'll be a nightmare trying to choose from all her girl names." Lucas merely grimaces in response to this slightly horrifying idea.

"Alright," Rachel exclaims a few minutes of hard work later. "Baby Girl Sawyer's room is complete. Now, all we have to do is wait for the furniture shipment from Pottery Barn, which should be here in the next couple of days, and we are in business." She reaches over and helps Peyton up, who hugs her delightedly, before hugging the two guys.

"Thank you all so much, it's perfect." Putting a hand to her stomach, she smiles as she feels the little girl kick in response. "I can't wait to meet you," she murmurs softly to it. Rachel smiles at her fondly, wraps an arm around her waist and kisses her on the forehead.

"So, what now?" says Haley. "Movie?"

"So we can fill you in every ten minutes when one of you has to get up and pee? How bout something else?"

"But," says Haley, as Lucas and Nathan haul her up, "there's that new one out with Johnny Depp in it. We should see that before the babies are born."

"Umm, Haley," Nathan says, pointing to the spot on the floor that's between her legs.

"Oh my God, my water just broke! Oh my God, oh my God," she says, faltering and falling back a bit, Nathan catching her before she hit's the floor. "Oh dear God, I'm going to have a baby, oh my God."

"We have to get to the hospital!" Peyton exclaims. "Lucas, grab her suitcase, Rachel, go bring the car around while we get down the stairs. Hurry up!" she yells, clapping her hands. Lucas runs towards Nathan and Haley's room, and Rachel takes the stairs two at a time. Nathan supports Haley down the stairs, making it to the bottom without incident. She's still hyperventilating, but other than that, everything seems to be doing ok. Lucas rushes downstairs with the suitcase.

"Alright, suitcase, house keys, we've got everything we need. Let's get to the hospital, there's a baby on the way", Nathan exclaims. And off they go, speeding to the hospital, for the birth of the first of three.

**Ok, that's it for now, but the next chapter should be up in the next few days. ( I know you've heard that before, but I'm going to do my best, promise.)**

**Please Read and Review! Hope you all like it!**

**xoxo**


	21. Chapter 20 Baby Number 1

**Chapter 20- Baby Number 1**

**Alright, I know, I suck. Life's been unbelievably hectic. I'm going to try and have more regular updates; no guarantees, but I'm going to do my best. Here's another (very) short one for ya, just wanted to get something up for everyone, but I promise the next one will be longer.**

"Ow, ow, ow!" Haley cried out from her bed in the delivery room. She'd been in labor now for 3 and a half hours, and the doctors thought she was getting close.

"Just keeping pushing baby, you're doing so well, you're almost there! I love you!" Nathan said in encouragement.

"I hate you," Haley yelled. "Why the hell would you do something like this to me! Oh, God, here comes another one!"

"Push as hard as you can!" the doctor said. "About five more minutes and he'll be here!"

"You here that? Five minutes!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Haley roared at him, squeezing his hand for dear life. Peyton, Rachel, Brooke and Lucas were standing around her, each with looks of horror on their faces.

"I don't want to do this!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Me either," Brooke wailed, looking nauseous.

"Sew me up," Rachel said, under equal duress, despite the fact that she wasn't going to be giving birth any time soon. "I'm never having sex again, ever!"

"Ditto," said Lucas. "I don't ever want to put any woman through this."

"I'm glad you don't want to have sex again, cuz we're never going to!" Brooke told him, going even greener when Haley began to scream in pain. "Oh God, why is this baby torturing her!"

"Get this thing out of me!" Haley yelled.

"Wait," the doctor told her. "I see the head, he's crowning. Give me one more big push."

Haley pushed with all her might, sweat dripping down her face. She cried out in pain, while everyone cheered her on. Finally, he was out. She leaned back and sighed in relief when he began to cry.

"Who wants to cut the umbilical cord?" Nathan walked over and took the scissors and cut the cord. The nurse cleaned the baby off, wrapped him in a blue striped blanket, and handed him to Haley, who took him eagerly.

"Oh, my baby, my beautiful baby." She said, crying a little. Nathan looked at her in concern. "No, these are happy tears." After a couple of minutes, Nathan took Jamie from her, holding his son for the first time.

"All right Haley," the nurse said a minute later as she took the baby from Nathan. "Let's get you down to recovery. Then you can get this little guy back." Two nurses came in and wheeled Haley away, with Nathan following. The others went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Both pregnant women were now smiling brightly.

**"**Well, no matter how bad it hurts, I guess it's all worth it in the end," Brooke said, rubbing her stomach.

"Yeah," Peyton said, copying Brooke's motion. "I'm definitely getting an epidural though." She said after a moment.

"Oh, no way in hell would I do that without one," Brooke agreed. Rachel and Lucas grinned at them affectionately as the sat down at the table with their food.

"Only four more weeks and we'll be back here for one of you," Lucas commented.

"Man, I hope it's you first," Brooke told Peyton.

"Don't you just want to get it over with?" Peyton asked her.

"Actually, after what we just saw, I'm good with it just staying in here," she said, indicating her belly.

Peyton laughed. "What happened to, 'It's all worth it in the end?'"

"I changed my mind." The group laughed, finished eating, and ventured back up to Haley's room. They stayed, each getting their turn holding little Jamie, before leaving the new parents alone to get some rest. They arrived home a little while later. Peyton went upstairs to take a bath, and the other three watched tv.

"I'm going to go check on Peyton, she's been up there for a long time," Rachel said, rising from the couch and heading for the stairs. She ascended them and walked to her and Peyton's room, entered, and knocked on the bathroom door. "Peyton, it's me, can I come in?" She didn't get a reply, so she merely opened the door and walked in to make sure that nothing was wrong. Peyton was sitting in the tub, hugging her knees, and crying. She looked up as Rachel entered, and then looked back down.

"Peyton, honey, what's wrong." Peyton merely shook her head, refusing to speak. "Peyton? Peyton? Talk to me…" Rachel pleaded, and finally Peyton looked up at her.

**OK, that's it for now, a little cliffhanger, and I'll do my best to have the update up in the next couple weeks, because I'm going to be on Christmas break and will have more time to write. I hope everyone likes the chapter. Please read and review, I love hearing what you all think. Happy holidays!**

**xoxo**


	22. Chapter 22 Fears

**Ok, I suck. I really don't have any excuse except lack of inspiration. However, I have been writing lately and am getting back into it. Also, I'm watching season 5 when Victoria convinces Rachel to leave and am going through a Rachel withdrawal. Hopefully they'll bring her back soon! Thank you all so much for reviewing and favoriting this story, I truly appreciate it. Here's the next chapter.**

**Chapter 21: Fears**

Peyton continued to hug her knees, rocking back and forth in the bathtub. Rachel stroked her hair, continually repeating her name, trying to get a response out of her. Finally, she did.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a mess," she said between tears.

"Sweetheart, just tell me what's wrong. Are you in pain?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then, what is it?" Peyton didn't answer, she just wiped her eyes. "Peyton?"

Peyton mumbled something incomprehensible. "What did you say," Rachel asked concernedly.

"I said I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified, ok!" She grabbed the bar of soap and threw it against the wall and began to cry again.

"Scared of what? Of labor? Honey, I know it's scary, and it obviously painful, but it's just a few hours and then you have a beautiful baby to show for it," Rachel said, trying to comfort her.

"No, I'm not scared of labor. I'm scared of it, of her."

"Who?"

"The baby. I'm scared," she sniffled as she cried softly. "I'm scared that I won't be able to love her," she said in a small voice.

"Oh Peyton," Rachel said gently, stripping off her clothes and stepping into the bathtub behind Peyton. She wrapped her arms around her.

"What if I can't love her because of who her father is, because of what he did to me. What if I end up resenting her? That's not fair to her."

"Peyton, you are going to make a fantastic mother, and I don't think you're going to have this problem. You don't judge people for where they come from, you judge them for who they are."

"But what if I can't do that with her? What if I'm just not capable of loving her the way a mother should love her child? What if I have to give her up?"

"You won't," Rachel murmured softly.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you. I know what kind of person you are, and I love you for that."

Peyton nodded and wiped her eyes again. She sank back into Rachel's arms, relaxing into the warm water.

"Everything will be just fine baby, I promise." Rachel told her.

"I believe you," Peyton said softly.

PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRP

The next morning, everyone was sitting around the breakfast table, eating pancakes. Nathan was at the hospital with Haley and Jamie, who were expected to stay one more night. The three women were all quiet, each one lost in their own thoughts.

"So, anyone want to go do something today?" Lucas asked hopefully.

"No," they all said in rather melancholy voices.

"Ok then," he said. He looked around the table at all of them. "All right, what's the matter with you three? You've been quiet all morning."

"Sorry Luke, I'm just tired," Peyton said.

"Yeah, tired." Rachel said, and Brooke nodded in agreement.

"You two," he said, pointing to Peyton and Brooke, "aren't still freaking out about giving birth are you? I mean, yes, it's obviously going to be painful, but then it'll be over, and you'll have beautiful little bundles of joy and…" he quailed under the look that Brooke gave him. "Nevermind," he said in a low voice. The four continued to eat in silence until the door burst open, and Cooper and Karen came in.

"We've just been to the hospital with Deb to visit Haley. Isn't Jamie beautiful?" Karen gushed. "Oh, and just think, in just a few weeks, I'll be a grandma too!" she exclaimed happily.

"And, me," Cooper said, "I'm a…" he considered this for a moment. "I'm a great uncle."

"Plus a complimentary uncle to two," Lucas chimed in, pointing to Peyton and Brooke's stomachs.

"Anyway," Karen said, taking two small parcels out of her purse, "we can't stay, Lily's at home with a babysitter. We just wanted to give you these." The girls took the packages and opened them. Each one contained a small pair of knit booties, pink for Peyton, and green and yellow for Brooke.

"Oh, Karen, they're beautiful," Brooke said happily.

"Adorable," Peyton agreed. "Thank you guys so much!"

"You're welcome girls," they said together. "Now, we really need to go. See you all later," Karen said, and, with a smile and a wave, they departed.

"That was sweet," Brooke commented, obviously in a better mood.

"Very," Peyton agreed. "I gotta pee," she announced, and exited the kitchen. She walked up the stair and went into her and Rachel's bedroom, and went into the adjacent bathroom. She walked out, and put the booties next to the crib and other baby items. She was about to walk out when she noticed something on the bed. It was a note. On it, there was written only one word…

_SOON._

**There it is, hope you all like it.. I will have the next update up as soon as possible. Please review, they really are a good motivator. **


End file.
